LATE COUNTRY NEWS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1775, 14 March 1906, Page 30

LATE COUNTRY NEWS.

WAITARA

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

The scow Whangaroa is busy taking in white pine timber from Mokau for Sydney.

The citizens of Waitara, through the Borough Council, are guaranteeing a syndicate to an extent such as to secure the company to light the town with electricity. The matter is well advanced, and it is expected that the company will start erecting the plant, etc., at an early date. A Workers’ and Labourers’ Union has been initiated in Waitara. Mr W. R. Wilson has been elected President, and the Mayor, Mr W. T. Newberry, VicePresident. Mr H. A. Campbell, the late aspirant for Egmont seat, was present at the meetings. Mr T. Buchanan was elected Secretary. The union is to be registered under the Industrial Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1900. It lias a membership to begin with of about 50.

The Waitara Bar for the last few days lias been rather bad owing to the dead neap tides, though the s.s. Kia Ora came in without any trouble on the same trip she bumped on the Ivawhea Bar. So Waitara Harbour can hold its own with the rest.

The North Taranaki Caledonian Society’s gathering came out with a small deficit of <£2 9s, which is highly satisfactory considering the Society have 9pent a considerable sum on the ground improvements. The s.s. Tapanui is expected to load in the roadstead about the 12th March. The school excursion to Stratford takes place this week, and something like 1500 pupils from Taranaki end will participate. Mr C. Johnston has imported a MacLaren traction engine, and a Foden combine for use in the district. The annual general meeting of Waitara Volunteers was held last week. The bal-ance-sheet showed a credit of <£ll 6s sd, and with liabilities and assets account a credit of <£294 13s Bd. The corps are still without a captain, hut hope to have an election in the course of a week or so. Colour-Sergeant Mellor relinquished the secretaryship, and Chaplain Dent, was appointed to the office The late secretary was voted a bonus of six guineas. The Board of the Egmont Licensing District are Messrs D H MacDonald, R, H. Pigott, C. 11. Stott, G. A. Stubbs, and A. M. Thomson. At the monthly meeting of the Borough Council, there was a full attendance of councillors. The appointment of borough solicitor ended in the cfio.ee of J. B. Roy, Esq., of New Plymouth.

The Council is to receive some relics of the Boer War as a memento of Waitara’s part in it. Mr John Soffe was selected out of some number of applicants to the position of poundkeeper, dog-tax collector, and nightsoil contractor. A number of accounts were passed for payment. The Council’s overdraft now stands at .£B7l 2s sd.

Whilst taking soundings on the Bar, the Harbour Board’s boat and crew were upset, but fortunately all got ashore with no injury beyond a few scratches. The marriage of Miss Gilbert of Waitara to Mr A. R. Edwards, of Nelson was celebrated in the Anglican Church, the Rev Dent officiating. The couple left by the afternoon train for their future home in Nelson.

Some good crops of oats are being cut this harvest, some anticipate 60 bushels, the highest yet threshed runs 45 bushels to the acre.

The Clifton County Council at last meeting adopted a resolution to introduce the toll-gate system of collecting revenue to fill the coffers of the much diminished County treasure chest. An indignation meeting of anti-toll payers is projected and a hot time is in store. DP PER lIDTT. (From Our Own Correspondent.) The first week in March is one of the busy times in this district, for it is then that the firing for the Rifle Championship takes place on tho Trentham Range. About two-thirds of tho competitors live in tents on the range, the remainder get board and lodging at the hotels, and at various farm-houses within easy distance of the ground. Buses and brakes convey passengens up and down the road, and it is perhaps just as well for the horses that the meeting takes place but once a year. The Upper Hutt Rifle Club is justly proud of its representative Mr J. Greenwood, who shot liis way into third place for the belt. He is a most popular member of the Club, and lias received congratulations on all sides for his meritorious shoot dig. The Hutt County Council lias just completed the formation of a footpath past the local school, and as far as the Oddfellows’ Hall. When the path gets a necessary coating of gravel, parents of children will no longer have cause of complaint concerning a dry walk for their little ones. GREY TOWN. (From Our Own Correspondent.) The last of what was at one time a flourishing industry in this district, viz., tho output of the sawmills is now lying at the Greytown railway station, in the shape of some five thousand whitepine sleepers to be sent to Woodville to the Creosote works. Th : s is last of a consignment of some 2500 from the Moliiki mill near Martinborough. I understand that the Greytown Working Men’s Club have purchased half an acre of land at the rear of the present club premises with the intention at a future date of removing the present build ngs back some fifty feet, and laying tho front out in garden plots, also enlarging the present buildings, which will make this club second to none in the country districts. Quite a groom was ca-st over the town on Sunday morning when it became known that Mr J. Dorrell, junr., only son of Mr J. Dorrell. River Overseer, had passed away. He was about on Wednesday morning, and evidently received a chill, tho weather being cold and wet, and this turned to inflammation. He was a member of the Greytown Volunteer Fire Brigade, and also of both cricket and football clubs, and was greatly respected by all who knew him. It is likely he will be accorded a military funeral. Much sympathy is felt for the bereaved parents, deceased who was twenty-three years of age being their only child.