COUNTRY NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9808, 1 May 1895, Page 6

COUNTRY NEWS.

[from our own correspondents.] Hamilton, Tuesday. PETTY thefts continue to be prevalent in and about Hamilton. One night last week the whole of the clothes drying on the washing line at Mr. Cooper's cottage, on the property of Mr. C. A. Davis, wa3 stripped and taken away, and on Sunday evening shortly after six o'clock a store in the township was entered by lifting a window in tho rear. A light was seen through the front window by a young man in the street who went to the private house of the storekeeper, a short distance away, and gave information of the fact. On going to the store and unlocking the door a man was heard getting out at the. back, and in another minute or two the galloping of a horse was heard, which he had had tied up near the store on which to escape. A search was made, but nothing was missed from the premises. At the late meeting of the Waikato County Council the clerk stated that tho County account was £352 in debt, which with the £116 payments to be then passed would raise the debit balance at the lm.uk to £468. The Chairman stated that in addition to this a payment would be necessary to the hospital contribution beforo the next meeting of the Council. For some years the principal business on the Waikato County Council was tho administration of the Rangiriri outlying district. That business has now been taken over by the newly-formed Road Boards out of the Rangiriri district, and it is proposed to hold the meetings of the Waikato County Council every second (instead of every) month. These meetings will now be held in the months of January, March, May, July, September, and November. Te Awamutu, Tuesday. A sufficient number only of candidates for tho Rangiaohia. and Tuhikaramea Road Boards having been nominated, they have been declared duly elected, namely, for Rangiaohia, Messrs. R. Burke, M. Turuey, Roger Kay, Win. Mandeno, and Allen Henderson; for Tuhikaramea, Messrs. T. L. Norman, T. C. Williamson, F. J. Vickers, Walter Reid, and T. McMeiken. Cambridge, Tuesday. The following is the list of awards in the children's section of the Chrysanthemum Show: — Hamilton Borough and March Meadows and Kirikiriroa Schools: Hand bouquets, under 10 years, 12 entries: Olive Graham, 1; Eileen Matthias, 2; Lizzie Taylor, 3. Ditto, 10 to 14 years. 31 entries : Kathleen Hume, 1; E. Hay, 2; Erne Kay, 3. Bridal bouquets, under 10 years, 15 entries : J Hill, 1; 0. Cussen, 2; H. Hay, 3. Ditto, 10to 14years,21 entries: F. Swarbrick, 1; L. Barton, 2; J. All wood, 3. Floral designs, under 10 years, 7 entries : Aubrey Chitty, 2 : C. Cussen, 3. Ditto, over 10 years: Ina Sandes, 1; Ina Newell, 2; Ina Cussen, 3. Te Aroha Public School: Hand bouquets, 10 to 14 years, 6 entries: Ellen Clough, 1; Emily Walton, 2. Bridal bouquets, under 10 years, 1 entry: Eileen Marsden, 2. Ditto, 10 to 14 years, Gentries : E. Walton, 1; A. Craig, 2. Floral designs, 1 entry: N. Marsden, "2. Cambridge Borough :— Hand bouquets, under 10 years, 27 entries : L. McNeish, 1: A. Roberts, 2 ; F. Webber, 3. Ditto, 10 to 14 years, 29 entries : K. Souter, 1; J. Brooks, 2; E. Ruge, 3. Bridal bouquets, under 10 years, 39 entries: K. Willis, 1; E. Mason, 2; G. Onions, 3; P. Pilcher, 4. Ditto, from 10 to 14 years, 23 entries : K. Sonter, 1; C. Brennau, 2; J. Hally, 3. Floral designs, uuder 10 years, 56

entries : Olive Kowe, 1; L. McNeish, 2: K. Willis, 3. Ditto, over 10 years :C. Neil, 1; J. McNeish, 2; C. Payne, 3; R. Galbraith, 4. Cambridge district, including Miss Youngs school, Miss Howard's school, and Pukerimu, Cambridge West, Hautapu, and Tamahere schools Hand bouquets, under 10 years, 21 entries: A. Crickett, 1; J. Prince, 2; K. Care, 3. Ditto, 10 to 14 veers, 39 entries: V. Ewen, 1; E. Dixon, 2; E. Wallace, 3. Bridal bouquets, under -0 years, 19 entries: R. Fergusson, 1; F. Uorran, 2; M. Norris, 3. Ditto, 10 to 14 vara, 34 entries: Janet Russell, 1; M. ,V' ;Kernon, 2; E. Dixon, 3. Floral designs, uader 10 years, 6 entries : Allan Wilson, 1. lilto, over 10 years : Eileen Dixon, 1. The oS; unpiou prizes for bridal bouquets were won as follows: K. Souter, 1; Florence War brick, 2. Te Aroha, Tuesday. __ Mr. Gubb, Government fruit expert, is expected here. He will bring a patent fruit evaporator with him and exhibit it in Wallace's smithy, so that those settlers who are interested in fruit culture may have an opportunity of examining it and having its U3es thoroughly explained. A very large quantity of fruit was wasted here this year owing to the low prices quoted for apples, etc., in the Auckland market. No doubt if the evaporators can be obtained at a moderate price, the settlers will save this waste next year by drying their fruit and putting it upon the market in the winter, when it is to be hoped fair prices will be obtained. PAPAKURA VALLEY. The newly-elected school committee met on the 22nd instant. Dr. Bodle was elected chairman and Mr. R. J. Middleton secretary. It was decided to get some necessary repairs done to the out-offices and washstand. _ Mr. Hansch and the chairman were appointed the visiting committee for the next quarter. It was also decided to purchase a good lamp and tin of kerosene, to light the building on such occasions as it may be used for meetings at night, as the present system of lighting was very unsatisfactory and not very safe. The Road Board's monthly meeting took place on the 20th instant. All the members were present. It was decided that the clerk put men on to cut the furze on the roads where the occupiers have failed to do so, the two months' notice required by the Act having expired. Various small necessary works were authorised. Accounts were passed as follow :—C. H. Lupton, carting scoria, £3 0s sd; E. Yates, repairing bridge, 2s Gd; Champtaloup and Cooper, 3s Id; R. F. Webster, dog-collar, lis 4d ; E. Morgan, expenses in connection with valuation, £1 7s 9d ; refund to East Tamaki Road Board, £5. The clerk reported that, according to instructions, he had issued summonses against those who had failed to register their dogs and pay their rates. Nominations for the new Board have to be in by the 27th instant. The annual meeting and election takes place on the 4th of May. Let those who are dissatisfied come forward and take a term of office.—[Own Correspondent.] ______ MAUKU. A meeting of the Band of Hope was held on Monday, April 15, Mr. James Finlay presiding. At the last meeting over three months ago the president and secretary had resigned, aud as their places could not then be filled up, it was decided to leave the matter over till a future meeting, so after the present meeting had been opened Mr. Finlay proposed and Mr. W. Howe seconded, " That the Rev. E. E. Budd be elected as president of the Mauku Band of Hope." The rev. gentleman thanked the meeting for the honour conferred upon him, and said he was wishful to do all he could in the cause of temperance. Mr. Crispe then stated he had prevailed upon Mr.. W. R. Wright to again act as secretary. He had consented to do so, provided he (Mr. Crispe) would assist him in getting up the monthly meetings, which he would willingly do. The young people of the neighbourhood seem to enjoy the monthly meetings, aud it is an opportunity to instil in them the value of temperance. An impromptu programme was put before the meeting, which appeared to give general satisfaction. A day's sports was got up here on. Wednesday, April 17, and they were held in Mr. Henry's paddock at Patumahoe. There were foot races, jumping, leaping, etc., all of which were well contested. There was also an entertainment and dance at the hall in the evening, and all there spent an enjoyable evening. I am pleased to note that a very worthy country settler is willing to stand for the vacant seat- on the Board of Education. I allude to Mr. J. H. Wright, of Pukekohe, in whom we will have a true and faithful country representative, and one who is fully up to all the requirements, he having been for about thirty years connected with our local bodies. He is sure to receive very large support, and I place him at top of the list against allcomers.—[Own Correspondent.] WAIUKU. On Tuesday evening, April 16, the annual soiree and concert in connection with Holy Trinity Church took place in the Temperance and Public Hall The weather proving favourable, there was a very large gathering, about 250 being present, a number coming from adjacent districts. The trays, which were all that could be desired, were provided by and presided over by the ladies of the congregation. At the after meeting the Rev. Mr. Budd occupied the chair. A varied programme of music, tableaux, etc., was very creditably gone through, and judging from the applause gave great satisfaction. On the motion of Mr. Allen Bent, seconded by Mr. H. Crispe, a hearty vote of thanks was passed to the ladies, to those who had assisted in the entertainment, and to the committee. Au enjoyable meeting was brought to a close by singing "God Save the Queen."—[Own Correspondent.]

NORTHERN WAIROA. The Hobson County Council have been somewhat befooled by a peculiar handling of the Parliamentary estimates of the present Government. In 1593 a grant of £200 was made for the Dargaville-Tikinui Road, and this amount the Council received and expended. So far so good. In 1894 a vote of £200 appeared on the estimates for Dargaville-Ara-tapu Road, and as the Council had been asking for a grant for this road they naturally thought their request had been granted, and in order to lose no time they anticipated the grant in a way by securing a quantity of metal for the road. The Government have, however, informed them that the grant Dargaville is simply the old one of Dargaville-Tikinui revoted, and thai, no money is available. Why the appellation should have been changed, or how Darga-ville-Aratapu can bo interpreted to include Tikinui some eight or ten miles beyond Aratapu, and where the £200 was expended, can best be explained by the Government, for it will need a very liberal interpretation to bring it in. A vote of £500 was made last session to extend the telegraph line to Opanaki, but as far as can be seen no attempt whatever has been made to put the work in hand, yet it is well known that the work is urgent. Half a thousand towards the surplus is very convenient no doubt, but this is scarcely an honest way of securing it. I cannot compliment Mr. Bush on his judgment on the complaint of Mr. Trounson in the Assessment Court. Mr. Trounson owns a block of land, on which is a kauri bush, the right to which was secured by the Kauri Timber jjompany before Mr. Trounsoun bought the land. The county valuer assessed the value of the land and the value of the timber separately, of course, and debited both to the owner of the land. Mr. Trounson objected to be assessed for that which does not belong to him, and which, in fact, is a nuisance to him, and appealed to the Assessment Court, not against the valuer's assessment price, but to have the Kauri Timber Company's name entered as the owner of the kauri. Mr. Bush, in his judgment, reduces the assessment to the value of the land only, and lets the kauri go free altogether. In this way the assessment of our county is reduced by £13,420, and the yearly revenue reduced by about £120. AH other persons on whose land kauri is growing are assessed for the same, and have to pay rates on it, then why should this kauri belonging to the Kauri Timber Company be wiped off the valuation as if it did not exist?

The following mail services are now being performed in this district under contract: — Opanaki and Maunganui BlufF, twice weekly, M. J. Nelson, £20; Tokatoka Landing service, as required, J. and J. Fitness, £30; Te Kopuru and Redhill, weekly, G. Dickson, £15; Dargaville and Tangihua, weekly, Northern Union Steamboat Company, £75; Helens Ponto, Tikinui, Scarrott's, Tokatoka, VVhakahara, Te Kopuru, Aratapu, Mititai, Mangawhare, and Dargaville, twice weekly, Northern Union Steamboat Company, £480.— Correspondent.]

AWITD. I am given to understand that the Awitu Regatta is now postponed until the beginning of the next yachting season, as the season is so far advanced. It seems the very best course to pursue, seeing that a number of the yachts which would have taken part last Monday but for the heavy weather are owned in Onehunga, and the owners cannot spare the ante other than on a public holiday. The entrance fees will be returned at once, and the prizes will be held by tho Regatta Committee. The subscribed money is to be banked, so that the public will be satisfied that all is being done on the square, and a good day's sport is in anticipation. [Own Correspondent.] .

POKENO. Ok Monday forenoon," Mr. J. MoPherson, clerk to the Pokeno Road Board, attended *.t the Pokeno School to receive nominations for the Board for the ensuing year. '} The following five gentlemen were, nominated, and, being the required number, the clerk declared them duly elected :—Messrs. J. Dean, F„ W. Pyne, R. Pendergrast, J. Keith, and D. C. Sheffield. —[Own Correspondent.] . WAINUI. The meetings of the Literary and Musical Society are more patronised than ever. On April the 17th, notwithstanding the dark night, there was an unusual large gathering. The programme, to which Miss Noakej, Messrs. Bond, Barry, Fennell, and Von Amelu contributed, was excellent. Severil encores were demanded. The debate on " Which Are the Three Greatest Calamities that Man Can Conceive?" went off very well, and, altogether, the meeting was in many respects superior to its predecessors. This being the last meeting in the quarter a new committee was elected, and it was also decided that the chair is to be taken in future in rotation. The next meeting will be devoted to a debate on " Which Exercises the Most Influence for Good— or Music V During the last few weeks we have enjoyed splendid autumn weather, of which the fullest advantage has been taken by those having outdoor work requiring dry weather for its accomplishment.— Correspondent.] ARATAPU. It is now generally feared that Mr. James Barbour, the well-known shipbuilder, Aratapu, has lost his life at sea. It will be remembered that in December he made a trip South as far as Wellington and Lyttelton in his pearling ketch, the White Wings, in the hope of selling her, but he returned unsuccessful. He then resolved to take the vessel to Thursday Island, and if necessary on to Port Darwin, and after loading box boards, and taking in a good stock of provisions, he sailed on January 23rd from the Heads. He was accompanied by named Wright, and it was his intention to sail the vessel over himself, but the authorities objected, and he was compelled to take a captain (Captain Jordan, I believe). Some very severe weather was experienced soon after the vessel sailed, and it is feared that disaster must have overtaken her, for she has now been gone three months and no tidings of her have been received either here or on the other side. The White Wings was sister vessel to the ketch now lying in the Aratapu creek. One object of Mr. Barbour's trip was to secure payment for a vessel which he had previously taken over but which had not been settled for. A meeting of subscribers to the Aratapu Library was held in the reading-room on Saturday evening, Mr. S. Webb in the chair. The committee's recommendation to move the library, building and all, to the site on the Aratapu Road offered by the Kauri Company was approved of, and Messrs. Webb, Hammond, and W. Bassett were appointed a committee to arrange for a benefit concert in aid of a fund to cover the cost ot removal, the concert to be held on the evening of the first football cup fixture on the Aratapu ground. The company have given the Library Committee a site with thirty-seven feet frontage between the dwellings of Mr. A. P. Smith and Mr. Mield. The estimated cost of removal and fixing up the site is about £20, and if anyone feels disposed to send along a contribution the committee will be most happy to receive it. The barque George Thompson is to move to Te Kopuru to complete her loading for Glasgow. The barque G. 0. Perkins took in 250,000 feet of timber at Messrs. Mitchelson's mill, and has now nearly completed her loading at Aratapu. The Kathleen Hilda is loading at Tatarariki. Thomas Maxwell was charged at the Police Court, Aratapu, on Tuesday morning, before Messrs. T. Webb and T. Bassott, J.P.'s, with bavin? stolen a pair of slippers and a pipe and case, valued in all at 16s. Prisoner pleaded guilty, but attributed the crime to drink. Constable Scott said the thicg3 belonged to Captain Stanaway, of the steamer Kopuru, and had been stolen from the vessel while the prisoner was being conveyed from Dargaville to Aratapu as a passenger. Captain H. Stanaway said prisoner may have been drunk at the time of the robbery, but he was able to walk about. The Bench imposed a fine of 403 and costs 2s, or in default fourteen days' imprisonment.—[Own Correspondent.] PAKIRI. The anniversary tea and concert, in aid of the Library Hall, took place on the sth of April, which proved a success. Mr. A. Campbell was chairman, and the following programme was successfully gone through : — Piano overture, Mr. Whittaker : song, " Kiilaloo," Mr. C. Ashton ; song, Mr. T. Pratt: song, Mr. Harday ; duet, The Wind and the Harp," Misses Brown; reading, "Cricket at Killaloo," Mr. H. Brown song, "The Vacant Chair," Miss E. Greenwood; song, " The Convent Bells,' encored, and gave " The Soldier's Dream," Mr. Allan : recitation, Mr. H. Lorkingtou; song, "Tired," Mrs. H. Brown; song, " Just. One Polka," encored, and gave " The Old Kent Road," Mr. Sinclair ; song, " The Bridge," Miss Ellen Loque ; reading, "Courtship in a Balloon," Mrs. Campbell; song, " A Lift on the Way," Mr. W. Greenwood ; duet, "' I Would That My Love in One Fond Word," Misses Brown; song, " He Never Cares to Wander from His Own Fireside," Mr. C. Ashton; song, "'E Dono Where 'E Are," encored, and gave "The Man that Broko the Bank at Monte Carlo," Mr. Sinclair. Votes of thanks to the performers and chairman brought a successful entertainment to a close. The accompaniments were played by Mr. Whittaker, and the piano was kindly lent by Mrs. H. Brown. Dancing was kept up till daylight. Messrs. hi Maker and Greenwood provided the music—[Omaha Correspondent.]

WHAKATANE. We experienced a perfect downpour of rain here, from Good Friday till Easter Monday, which, however, turned out a perfect day. There were no sports of any sort here, and few, if any, private picnics. The continuous rain of Sunday prevented any who had intended going to the Opotiki sports getting away, and altogether we spent a very quiet Easter time. Since the flaxmill was closed some time ago, the store known as the mill store, and owned by Mr. Dando, had been kept open ; but it is now closed also, and the building and two sections on which the store stands have been disposed of to Mr. E. L. Smith. Mr. Dando, who has been selling off for some time, has taken the balance of his goods to Matata. A large gathering of natives is understood to be there at the present time, which doubtless encouraged him to go in that direction, A mob of 203 cattle crossed the river on Easter Monday from the Opouriao station, J. Boynton in charge. One of the beasts became so unmanageable that it was left at the Heads till the following day, wheu I understand it was driven to safe quarters. Cattle-drivers are finding it to their advantage to take the cattle over at the lowest crossing near the Heads, as was suggested in a former letter from here. It must be Sheer ignorance of the plaae which would make them ford at the upper crossing, which is not only much wider, but boggy, while the lower one is narrow, with a firm sandy bottom. The news of the actual sale of the Opouriao station to the Government is giving general satisfaction here. The cutting up of this station into small farms will, if the terms are reasonable, induce numbers of families to settle here, which will without doubt cause quite a revolution in the place, and will tend to the benefit of those who are here, and those who settle here from other places. Speculation runs high as to the terms on which it will be sold, and everyone seems interested in the subject.—[Own Correspondent.]

PONGAKAWA. The Easter weather in this district has been rather rough. Winter followed summer almost immediately, consequently the autumn growth has not been as good as the previous year. A very heavy thunderstoim passed over the Kaikokopu district last Saturday, about one o'clock. Mr. George Lemon, a gentleman living in the district, lost three fat bullocks by the lightning, and also some posts were shattered. The Rev. Mr. Goodyear, from Maketu, held service in the Pongakawa schoolroom on Sunday evening to a very fair congregation. The following evening the Rev. Mr. Sinclair, from Tauranga, preached his farewell sermon at Pongakawa. This gentleman has been very unfortunate in his visits to Pongakawa, rain pouring in torrents on all previous occasions. A farewell dance was held in honour of Mr. and Mrs. Uothorpe, who are leaving the district. There was a good attendance, and a very enjoyable evening was spent, dancing being kept up till about three o'clock in the morning. A dance and party was held in schoolhouse on the following evening on account of the school children. A verypleasant evening was spent, the youngsters enjoying themselves thoroughly. The maize crops in the district are looking splendidly, some of them promising very heavy yields. The grass has freshened since the late rains, being very welcome to farmers and others.—[A Correspondent.]