COUNTRY NEWS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 866, 5 October 1888, Page 30

COUNTRY NEWS.

, MASTERTON. S 5 (from our own CORRESPONDENT.) . September 26. The Maori pah at Akura is once more the home of a large number of Natives, who have returned to it since the removal of Mr Burnett’s sawmill plant from the neighbourhood. Last autumn some of the Maoris had a lawsuit with Mr Burnett, in which they sought to recover damages for the destruction of some of their property by a fire which, it was alleged, that gentleman had caused. Now they find that the conflagration that they had found fault with has burned off a large quantity .of partly-felled bush, and prepared the soil for potatoes, of which they are planting at least 20- .acres. I had occasion to pass the pah yesterday, and was much amused at the manner in which they carry on the work. They divide themselves into parties, and whenever one of these , has reached the end of a row, the members of it set up a cheer, before which that of a team of footballers at the conclusion of a match sinks into utter iusignificance. To show that they are not jealous, all the other parties join in the demonstration of pleasure, so that all the neighbouring woods ring with their shouts. As another row may perhaps be finished a minute later, the whole ceremony is, of' course, repeated. Now and then there is an intermission for . various athletic exercises, when, as a matter of course, there is more cheering. Altogether this vigorous remnant of the Ngatikahungunu appears to be leading a very happy sort of a life. There is an elderly man at the said Akura Pa who seems to be a fit subject' for a lunatic asylum. He has a craze for matches, and will beg, borrow or steal them whenever opportunity offers, and then apply them in most undesirable ways. The side of the whare iu which he happens to be, and the hair of a sleeping beauty near him, appear to present the greatest attractions. On Monday night he paid a visit to the residence of Mr Hoffeins, and. asked for some matches, threatening to enforce his demand with a cudgel. Mr Hoffeins, however, also had recourse to a cudgel, and the unpleasant visitor was quickly shown off the premises. As the old fellow visited the house of another settler under similar circumstances the same night, it will be readily understood that he is a dangerous nuisance. ■ ! .

The imported trout must bepronounced a very pugnacious sort of fish. Thissessonhe seems to be carrying on a regular warfare against the lamprey, hundreds of which are being picked up in tha Waipawa’ by the Maoris. All of them are found to have severe injuries, which have undoubtedly been inflicted by the imported fish, which, I may add, occasionally take nearly the whole skin off an eel. Farmers are beginning to be afraid that there will bo too much fine weather this spring, and that crops will suffer owing to want of rain. The country, though looking splendid and green, is certainly beginning to bear signs that a fow showers of rain would do good. At the time of writing there is every prospect of a night’s rain from the eastward, and this, if realised, would suit all the requirements of the farmers for the time being. The annual meeting of the Masterton Permanent Building and Investment Society was held last night. The balancesheet presented showed that, despite the dull times, very satisfactory progress had been made. The deposits had increased from L 4862 to L 5946. There was a slight falling off in the amount advanced, only 50 per cent of the money applied for having been granted ; but that was fully accounted for by the dull times, and the necessity to exercise caution. Messrs J. C. Boddington and A. R. Bnnny were reelected Directors.

There was a sitiing of the District Court before Judge Davy to-day, when orders for discharge were granted in a number of bankruptcies. Iu the case of James Thompson, who had been ordered to come up for public examination, that part of the proceedings was dispensed with on the application of the Official Assignee. Two civil cases had been set down for hearing, but in one of them the proceedings were withdrawn, and in the other an order in bankruptcy asked for was granted by consent. October 2. The weather took a most satisfactory change about 10 o’clock last night, when the wind lulled and a nice warm rain commenced to fall, continuing till this morning, when the wind changed to the south and the rain gradually ceased. To the farmers the wet night must prove an almost inestimable boon. While on the subject of the weather I may add that there were three frosts last week, and that the early potato crop suffered considerably. Mahakipawa is proving irresistible to a large number of men here, and so many have left to see whether fortune will smile on them that their absence is plainly noticed in the town. Some of those who went with the first rush have returned, but that fact does not prevent anyone from going. Many of those who have spent portions of the summer prospecting in the Tararua ranges have gone, or are about to go, so that, I suppose, there will be less gold-sinking done here. A good many residents here are greatly exercised as to the nature of a metal which is found in many localities here, and which, while having the colour of

gold, and is malleable, proves to be remarkably light, and soluble in acids. It appeara to be useless to scad it to the museum for a test, for the reply from there'invariably is that it is an ordinary artificial alloy. I krfow for a fact that this is wrong ; but then, what is it 1 I was assured this' morning that Mr W. Welch’s dwelling on his farm at the Mikimiki was burnt down yesterday afternoon. Mr Welch w,aS away at the time, and his wife and family were unable to save much of, the contents. The building was a four-roomed one, and was, I understand, insured in the South British office for Lloo.' Nothing is at present known of the origin of the fire. Matters theatrical have been very dull of late. I am, hpwever, glad to see there is a prospect of times being a little livelier, oven in this' respect, To-morrow evening the Philharmonic Society will present “H.M.S. Pinafore” at the Theatre Royal, repeating it on Friday. I am unable to give an idea whether the performance will be a success or not. A number of our leading amateurs have, however, worked hard and honestly to make it a success, and I shall be glad to report that' they Have not been disappointed. I am glad to hear that Miss Hume, the New Zealand prima donDa, is likely to pay a visit to Maßterton. It is not often that talented artists visit Masterton, and Miss Hume should therefore command large audiences. The extraordinary length to which the sitting of the Native Land Court at Greytown is protracted has compelled the Maoris to depart ffom their usual custom of gathering at the place of meeting and seeing it all through. They did the gathering part of it, but they soon found that they could not stay without neglecting their crops, and nearly all of them have therefore returned to their homes, only those whose presence is actually required remaining at Grey town. I have been informed that the sitting of the Court is likely to last another two or three months. It is, I think, th 3 longest ever held in the district. It remains to be seen whether it will prove the most useful. [By Telegraph.] Masterton, Ootober 1. A strong nor’-westerly gale prevailed all day and during the afternoon, with clouds of dust in the streets, so that ,it was hardly possible to go .out. The wind has now moderated. Raines much needed. It is reported that a seam of brown coal about six inches thick has been cut by the diamond drill .on :Fernridge. The bore is now down "’about 30ft, and the country is favourable throughout.