COUNTS NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9610, 7 September 1894, Page 6

COUNTS NEWS.

[FROM our own CORRESPONDENTS.] Hamilton, Thursday. The following are the Waikato sheep returns to April 30,1894:—Waikato county: 106 owners, 84,788 sheep, or an increase of 5925 over 1893. Raglan : 88 owners, 51,083 sheep, decrease 459. Waipa: 137 owners, 52,700 sheep, decrease for the year, 7193. Piako: 57 owners, 224,246 sheep, increase for the year 15,268. West Taupo and Kawhia : 86 owners. 22,608 sheep, decrease of 732.' Tauranga : 27 owners, 6711 sheep, decrease for the year 4195. Whakatane :93 owners, 53,054 sheep, decrease 11,023. Taking the whole district, there has been an increase of 26 sheep owners, with a decrease of 2409 sheep owned, Waikato and Piako .counties alone showing an increase in sheep. The total number of sheep in the district on the 30th April was 495,190, as against 497,599 in 1893 on the same date, with 594 owners in 1894 against 568 owners in 1893. As there are four candidates for the three vacant seats in the Borough Council, there will be an election (Messrs. Bettley, R. F. Sandes, E. T. Davy, and C. Tippin. The retiring members, who are standing again, will in all probability be elected. \ Wgaroawahia, Thursday. The Town Board have fenced in the football ground, and a charge of 6d will be made on Saturday next at the match between the Hamilton and Huntly clubs, one half of which will go to the Waikato Rugby Union funds, and one half to the Board. Cambridge, Thursday. The nominations to the Borough Council not having exceeded the number of seats vacant, Messrs. Priestly, Escott, and Bach have been declared duly elected. Mr. James Webber has been appointed Fire Inspector for the Borough. The quarterly meeting of the district of Waikato Licensing Committee was held at the Court-house, Cambridge, to-day. Present: Captain Jackson, S.M. (chairman), Messrs. I. Coates, L. O'Neill, J. S. Bond, and T. Gavin. The only formal business was the application for the transfer of the Hot Springs Hotel licence from Mr. Ellis to Mr. Knock. The police report being in every respect favourable, the application was granted. Mr. Bond introduced the subject of the payment of the clerk, and urged that he was much more entitled to remuneration than the clerks of the looal bodies administering the Act, whose duty simply consisted in allotting the proportion of the expenses to be paid by the several local authorities. The chairman agreed that the. clerk should be paid for the extra duty imposed upon him by the Act, but stated that no authority was provided for such payment, and the local bodies would not pay unless compelled by the law. Mr. 1 Bond urged that tne authority appointing the clerk to the Licensing Committee should also provide for his payment. This view was also snared by the otner commissioners, and the chairman intimated that if the committee would put their views in writing, he would undertake to forward the same to the. Minister of Justice. This Mr. Bond undertook to do. Some discussion took place upon the action of the Waipa and Waikato counties charging., a percentage for administering the Act, but no definite action was taken.

Te Awamotu, Thursday. As there are six nominations for the five seats vacant on the town board, namely, Messrs. G. M. A. Ahier, .1. F. Andrew, F. R. Gibson, P. Lynch, J. L. Mandeno, and W. North, an election will be held on Wednesday, the 19th inst. Whatawhata Thursday. A grand fancy, plain, and military ball will shortly be held in Whatawhata, at which it is expected some fifty couples will be present. Tenders for catering for 100 people will be received by the hon. secretary, Mr. Alexander Colder, up to 11 a. m. on Wednesday next.

MANGERE. The Mangere Mutual devoted the evening of the 27th August to Tennyson. Mr. E. Hall kindly came forward with an original paper on the great poet, and had also arranged with several members to give readings, songs, and recitations from Tennyson's works, and the result proved a very pleasant and profitable evening. Amongst others, the following litems were rendered:"The Brook," reading and singing by Mr. 0. Taylor and Miss E. Taylor; reading, "May Queen," Mr. E. Allen ; reading, " Dora," Miss P. Harrison ; solo, " Too Late," Miss Lizzie Robertson song, from "Maud," Mrs. Mellsop; song, "Break, break, break, on thy cold grey, Stones, 0 Sea," Mr. 0. Taylor: readings from " Guinevere," by Mrs. and Mr. Mellsop and Miss Heron. "■ ; Mouday opening, September 3, took the form of a social ana dance, and the following was the programme :Overture, pianoforte duet, . Misses Harrison; song, " Katie's Letter," Mrs. Mellsop (encored); song, " Round the Camp Fire, Mr. Higgins (encored) ; reading, "The Obituary Poet" (by Mark Twain), Mr. James Montgomerie; song, " Half-past Nine," Miss Henwood; violin solo, Mr. J. D. Scott; song, Love's Request/'Mrs. Hayr ; recitation, Miss Heron; song, "Big Ben, ' Mr. Harrison; solo, "'ln Happy Moments," Miss E. C. Wallace; selection on harp zither. Miss Harrison; reading from "David Copperfield," Mr. H. J. Gill; song, Sweet Birds," Miss Snell (encored): song, Mr. R. Henwood; song, "The Young Brigade," Mr. J, Wallace; recitation, Miss J. Speakmau; song. Miss Lizzie Robertson; song, "Comrades," Mr. Higgins, with the audience joining in chorus. —[Own Correspondent.] r.

WADE. " The weather during the past fortnight has been the worst known for years for farming operations. The ground is quite saturated with moisture. The smart gales from the west and the heavy rainfalls have made country settlers seriously consider the question of local finances. Throughout the district the roads never were in such a bad state, and many of the bridges erected some years ago will require extensive repairs ere long. All through the country complaints are rife of the dreadful state of the roads, and they all require a good outlay to put them right, independent of the damage done by floods to bridges and culverts. A great deal of money will be required to put all the main roads and bridges in good order, and where the money is to come from is becoming the burning question of the day. The country authorities are at their wits' end to find money to keep the ordinary expenditure going without the extra expenditure entailed through floods and bad weather. A good deal of the cost that the authorities will no doubt be put to is caused by the proverbial want of the stitch in time, for in numerous cases the watertables have not been cleaned out, hence the bad state the main roads have got into. Good roads are the greatest possible boon that any Government can bestow upon the working country settler, and it is during such winters as this that we realise the fact. ' i Lambing has been going on, but I am afraid the losses must be heavy, owing to the excessively cold showers. Generally speaking, however, the sickness amongst the flocks is not so great as it might have been expected. Feed is exceptionally scarce, and 1 hear reports of loss in cattle, more especially calves and milking cows, while every dairy-farmer you meet with has a dismal tale to tell regarding the great shrinkage in his butter yields. The settlers In the low-lying lands of the district are actively engaged in draining. A number of the members of the Settlers' Association have decided to form a fruitgrowers' association,, as several members of the former are not directly interested in horticulture,—[Own Correspondent.]

WAIUKU. ; The creameries started here on Saturday last, the Ist September. There was not a large supply to commence with, it being too early, the majority of cows not having calved, and the feed rather short. Although the weather was fearful, raining and hailing nearly the whole day, the suppliers rolled up in good time. There are three creameries now going in this district, viz., Waiuku, Waipipi, and Otaua. The former is the central of this part of the district. The cream is brought from the two latter places to Waiuku, from where it is taken to Pukekohe, the head depot, daily. There is an increase in the number of suppliers this year, and very shortly the creameries will fie receiving the milk from over 1000 cows. Messrs. A. Buckland and Sons held their monthly sale of live stock, etc., here. There was a large muster of cattle, mostly cattle from 12 months to 2£ years, and springers. The prices were not so high as usual, whether it was on account of the bad weather or not I do not know, but a good many remained unsold. The weather dnrincr Friday, Saturday, and Sunday was something unprecedented for coldness, and on Sunday it was snowing heavily, which I believe has never been experienced before in this district. The weather still continues cold, and more rain is brewing.— Correspondent, September 5.J :■ r ■ f :> ■■■.;

POLLOK. Another , fine acquisition to our everincreasing list of dwellings here is the one recently erected and completed to the order of Mr. Jas. Given. Pollok, by the contractor, Mr. James Harris, of Waiuku. It is a very handsome and commodious residence of the villa style of architecture. This is a few of the particulars in regard to it : —The are* of the house is 42 by 31 feet, and contains four bedrooms, drawing-room (size of which is 15 by 12 feet), kitchen, porch, with verandah around the front and sides five feet six inches in width, furnished with double

columns, champered, and ornamented with 14-inch brackets finished in soggits and facia. There is also a spacious; hall, measuring upwards of five feet in width, that passes right through the house, and sis set off with a fine arch •in the middle. Atl the ceilings of the rooms are painted in .3 a pure white and papered in the latest { styles. The whole building is. roofed over with corrugated iron, with' lead gutters, and surrounded by a '5inch 0.6.' spouting. The front door is handsomely painted in green and gold, with side and fan lights. The dwelling is very pleasantly situated on really a fine.site that commands quite a panoramic view of the Ma'nukau harbour ana surrounding country.' The whole structure has been put together in a manner that ia highly creditable both to the builder, Mr. Harris, and the proprietor.— [Own Correspondent.] | • •»

! POKEKOKB WEST.' The weather in this neighbourhood for the past few days has been .the most severe experienced here for some years. Daring the | hail and sleet showers it blew terrific wind about WiS. W. to S.W. There is more water lying about at present than I have seen during the whole of the winter. The result is cattle. are looking thin; and, unless handfed, have had no chance of filling themselves, the land being aoddened, 1 with' very little grass, and the. poor things running here and there to find some place of shelter from the cutting hailstorms. . j The creameries in this and neighbouring districts opened to receive milk on Saturday last, the Ist of September; but very few suppliers took milk t that commodity not being very plentiful just yet. To secure the 3£d per gallon, suppliers must supply on or before tne 7th instant. Supplying after that one-eighth of a penny per gallon will be taken off, so that all who have milk .to supply will do so before the 7th. ) *'■ The Franklin Licensing Committee held their quarterly ~ meeting at ! the Court-house, Pukekohe, at noon on Saturday, the Ist instant. There was just a quorum present, the S.M. in the chair. The only business was the transferring of two licenses— that of the Criterion Hotel, Otahuhu, from Mr. Rae to Mr. J. Harrison ; and that of the Mauku Hotel, Patumahoe, from Mr. S. F. Hedland to Mr. Thos. Kinsey. The Pukekohe Road Board met at the office of the Board on Saturday, at two o'clock in; There were four members present. After the minutes were read and confirmed, the correspondence was gone through; and two letters— from the Treasury, the other from the Auckland Hospital a and Charitable Aid Board—were freely discussed. It seenned the Board's contribution to the Charitable Aid Board, Auckland, was demanded by that body about two or three months since, the Road Board promising to forward the sum—viz , £61 odd —as soon as the Government paid over the subsidy which was then due. The subsidy not being forthcoming from the Government as usual during April or May, heard no more on the subject , till a fortnight since, when they received the two letters previously mentioned, which stated that the amount of subsidy due to the Board was £115 odd, expenses reducing it to £113 8s sd. From tins sum was taken the Charitable Aid Board's contribution tor the year 1893 94, £61 odd; and also intimating that the balance of £51 odd, for the year 1894-95, was also paid over. The secretary of the Charitable Aid Board wrote the Road Board acknowledging the receipt of same. I may say the Road Board thought it rather sharp practice on the part of the Government to pay the balance of subsidy to the Charitable Aid Board before it was due, as they needed this money to meet current expenses. It is the intention of the Board to inquire further into the matter, and find out if the Government can legally do this. Several accounts were passed for payment; but, havin? no funds, cheques could not be made out till it was found if an overdraft at the bank was obtainable, the chairman and secretary being deputed to make the nccessary arrangement—[Own Correspondent.]

TUAKAU. The first two days of this month were most inclement; very stormy, with heavy squalls of hail and rain, and bitterly cold—very hard upon all live stock, and checking farm work. As far as I can learn oats wilt be the principal . crop grown this year, excepting grass, which has received greater attention for milk-producing purposes, for, after all, the butter factories are the farmers' best friends. The Tuakau Creamery opened this season on the Ist instant. Notwithstanding the pitiless weather a number of suppliers carted their milk to it. ! The Whangarata Factory commences on the 10 th. I It is satisfactory to notice that the Government is paying some attention to the wants of the farmers. In the Government Gazette of July 12, No. 53, there is a notice "that the railway will carry returned skim-milk free," charging, I understand, id a gallon for the fresh milk—the price charged by carters. Now, this is a concession in the right direction, which will, no doubt, be fully appreciated by many milk-suppliers. Quite a , trade is going on in whitebait. Numbers of Maoris and others are engaged in it. ' Your city is the principal market for them. ' :j ' There have been a few cases of influenza, but on the whole the district is healthy.— [Own Correspondent.] j

WHANG AREI. The Hikurangi railway is going to be pushed on to YVhukapara, and thirty men of the unemployed class are being set to work on it. The present terminus is three-quarters of a mile oast Hikurangi. It is christened Waro, which is Maori for coal; and a very handy, suitable name it is. From Waro to Whukapara or Wairua the distance is three miles, and when the line reaches the river it will practically tap the Puhiptihi Forest. The Kaimamaku River flows down alongside the eastern side of Puhipuhi, and empties into the Wairua, about half fa mile above the terminus. The beat of the Puhipuhi timber is on the Kaimamaku side, and 40,000,000 or 50,000,000 feet can be got into the river by tramways or rolling roads, all nearly level or down hill; as much more can be got out at a comparatively moderate cost, and if the whole was worked it would make a big difference to the surrounding country. Influenza is still rife in j some of the out districts. So far we hear of only one death from it—namely, that of. Mr. Storey; and with warmer weather it will disappear. We had a very fine spell j of weather here from the 19th to the 28th; and farmers were actively engaged all over the county putting in oats, potatoes, etc.; but the last four days would completely stop operations, and prove very trying to stock, especially young lambs. This kind of weather was quite common in old times, and a lot of stock used to die with it. Our member, Mr. Thompson, gets some credit by the plucky stand he made for the North, and there is a good deal of talk about meetings being held to support him.—[Country Correspondent.] j

PARUA BAY. The weather during the past week has been the worse we have had through the winter. Although not a steady downpour of rain, it has been a series of the most terrific squalls, accompanied with bitterly cold rain and sleet. The lambs in unsheltered positions are sure to suffer severely. For some time prior to this gale the weather was beautiful. The peach trees were many of them in full bloom. Other trees were putting forth, and everything betokened an yearly spring. Farmers were busy putting iii their potato and other crops; but now a stoop is put to all such work, ana at times it loojks as if we were carried back into the very depth of a severe winter; but I suppose this next change will be for the better. j Several properties lave changed hands during the past few months, and the spare land of the district is being gradually taken up. Several new arrivals from England have recently taken up their abode here. At the same time there are others leaving the district, which is not so gratifying. We never like losing old friends, but!; are willing to welcome any number of new ones.— Correspondent.] j

OTONQA. On August 27 there was a very pleasan social in the schoolroom given by Mr. and Mrs. McKenzie, of this district, in honour of the birthday ot their son, Mr. Norman McKenzie. About sixty persons were present, and a highly enjoyable evening was spent. Refreshments were provided on a very liberal scale, and of first-rate (quality, and were done full justice to. The schoolroom was well lighted up, and although the floor was rather "heavy in the earlier part of the evening, it greatly improved later, and, indeed, was very good then!. Songs were given at intervals by Mr. Morgan, of Opuawhanga, by Mr. A. Bisset, of this district, by Mr. George Wright, of Hikutangi, and by other friends. As this was the regular dance we have had here for some time, all present enjoyed it with great gusto. The residents of this district always do go in most energetically for this form of amusement, but I think they almost surpassed themselves on this occasion, keeping it up vigorously until daylight. Among so many charming young ladies it is rather difficult to decide as to which one carried off the | honour of belle of the evening, and, indeed, it seemed to me that the honour was evenly divided between Miss Aldred, of Opuawhanga, and Miss Bisset, of Otonga. •. | Although I have said this is the first dance we have had here for some time, yet we have . not been. altogether without dancing, for we have started a dancing class again, and it is now flourishing greatly, Nearly all the

young people of the district are attending, many of them as beginners,: and they are now making rapid progress in the art. The great need of this district is a hall, in order to hold; such classes, as- well as entertainments, as lor various reasons a school is not nearly so convenient for dancing in as a ball would be. ' - ,» • I understand that Inspector Airey is expected within a fortnight to examine our school, and the children are- all anxiously awaiting his coming.—[Own Correspondent.]