The Opunake Times. FRIDAY, MAY 8, 1896. THE MAIN ROAD.

Opunake Times, Volume IV, Issue 193, 8 May 1896, Page 2

The Opunake Times. FRIDAY, MAY 8, 1896. THE MAIN ROAD.

Any one taking a walk through the township cannot fail to be struck by the disgraceful state of the main road, running through it. It is in charge of the County Gouuoil, and as the administration is centred at New Plymouth we cannot be surprised that our wants are not better attended to. The County rate derived from the town district amounts to somewhere about £75 a year, and as the Council has spent but a very small amount of this on the road during the last few years, it has been a source of revenue to the Council for works in other parts of the riding. Two years since when it was mooted by the Town Board that it should take the road over and receive the County rate accruing from the town for expenditure on it, the Council would not listen to the proposal as it was not then in a position to forego any revenue. Since then, however, by means of the wheel tax and keeping the tolls going, the Council has gradually placed itself in a better position, and nearly a year ago Mr McGloin informed the Chairman of the Town Board that he thought the matter could be arranged, and if the Council were approached he would attend to it on their behalf. The Board wrote'the Council to know if it was willing to hand it over, and the Council passed a resolution to hand it over at once. The Town Board then delayed for a considerable time, during which their solicitor was .asked to draw up au agreement or basis on which they should accept the trust. This agreement was finally submitted to the Board, which iraimproved on their solicitor's wisdom, and added a clause that in uo year should the Board be compelled to spend on the road more than the County rate accruing from the Town District. The whole matter could be put in a nutshell. What was wanted was for the Council to hand over control of the road to the Beard, and further, to grant authority to the Board to collect and spend the County rate on it. We are not, therefore, surprised at the Council regarding the cjuditions, &c, submitted by the Board as so much rubbish, for we considered them such before they were submitted. The Council had everything to lose and uoth'ng to gain by handing tne road anJ rates over, a-id the Board had everything to gain and nothing to lose by taking them over, hence the absurdity of trying to impose conditions on the Council will be apparent. Certain town ratepayers were under the impression that taking it over meant additional taxation and liability, but such fears were absolutely without any foundation, as no loan could be raised for the purpose of repairs, and no speciul rate could be raised for the purpose. The Narau and Waiau bridges were also pointed to as liabilities, but should they collapse which will they affect most, the County Council or the town ? We think those interested in the town had a good object lesson in that point when the Heimama and other bridges were carried away. They were left with fords which were often uneibssable, and very serious injury done to the business of the town. Should the Nauru bridge go there is every probability that the primitive ford will again be called into requisition to the detriment of the town, as tha Council i.s rapidly spending all the funds available in road repairs. If Mr McGioin's advice had been acted on and the simple propositions necessary put before the Council we have no doubt it would have been duly carried and the expenditure of £7O or £6O a year on the mile of road would soon have put it in repair and made it a credit to the township.

Mr Rua Moetahuna gives a warning to trespassers.

A proposition is on foot to work the tram lines in Wellington by electricity,

Mr W. D. Scott's Awatuna stook sale take* place on Monday. * ,

The Government have sent a surveyor to see about opening up the Okahu road, which we understand is to be put in hand at once. The Taranaki trotter, Carbine, has been taken on to Christchurch, where he wiil be located for a time. .-

The Imperial authorities are to be asked to allow their delegates to represent New Zealand at the Buda Pesth Telegraphic Conference.

Over 150 applications for admission to the polios force have been received in Wellington, but all vacancies have been filled for some time.

The application of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce for a subsidy' to steamers to Western Australia has been referred by the Cabinet to the Postmaster-General for enquiry.

It is stated by a Dunedin resident that a new process of condensing milk has been discovered by which it possible to make a substantial profit after paying 4d per gallon for the milk.

The Government will* bring in a bill next session to deal with the question of short weight, and also one to deal with the question of infant life protection so as to more effectually prevent the state of things that prevailed in the Dean case.

< Sportsmen have been making havoc amongst the game for the past week. Several sportsman from outside districts have been visiting here and have succeeded in getting fair bags. Our local sport, Mr H. Middleton, is as usual the most successful in this part.

The Land Board on Monday resolved, That the opinion of the Board's solicitor with respect to the power of the Board to charge a fee under sub-sec 2 of sec 81 for consent to mortgage be forwarded to the Government for its information, with the request that the Board be informed if the Crown law offieer concurs in the opinion ?

A correspondent of the St. James' Gazette says :—" I often hear English people vainly endeavoring to pronounce the name Kruger. Sometimes it is "Krooger " (hard g) sometimes " Kroojer." The South African Dutch g is more like guttural h than anything else, and Kruger is pronounced in the Transvaal something like " Kreehyer." We are sorry to hear that W. Corkin, a lad of 13 years, son of Mr J. Corkin, of Rahotu, who had the misfortune to have his leg broken by a kick from a horse he was catching, and after being a month in the Hospital at New Plymouth, has had the leg again broken and re-set. His progress towards re. covery is not as satisfactory as could be wished.

The Wairarapa Star says—Mr W. Gillespie, of the Masterton Post and Telegraph Office, made rather an important discovery the other day. He found that by manipulating the telegraph wires in a certain manner and connecting them with the telephone he could procure telephonic communication with any part of the colony. Accordingly he conversed with operators at both Napier and Wellington.

Mr R. E. Mcßae's well-known horse Morpheuß met with serious injury on Tuesday on Mr Moore Hunter's farm, where the animal was running. The report that reached us is that one of Mr Hunter's employees had ridden to a fence to effect some repairs. Dismounting he left his mare standing near. The stallion came up to his mare and the employee endeavored to drive the horse away. By some means the horse received a wound, the hind leg being cut to the bone. On Wednesday morning Messrs Worthy, Mitchell, and Knight inspected the horse, and recovery is reported to be hopeless. The loss is indeed a serious one to Mr Mcßae, for whom much sympathy is expressed.

A point of interest wa3 raised in the Invercargill Police Court, arising out of a charge against a prohibited person of having been found in licensed premises. Council took tbe objection that the order had been taken out against his client without notice to him. This was admitted by the other side, but it was contended that the licensing laws all ow such orders to be issued on the ex parte statements of the applicants and .witnesses, and therein differed from the common law ; the right of a man to have an opportunity to Bhow cause why he should not be convicted. Mr Poynton, S.M., decided that the order was not good.. The simplest way out of the difficulty wa3 to delare that the man was not a prohibited person, and let his frhnds take fresh action in the proper form.

The educational statistics for the year to December 31 for the Colony show that 129,356 children attended public schools, being-an increase of 2,556 over«the previous year. The average attendance was 81*4. Among the pupils were 1894 native children, exclusive of those attending native schools. The number of public schools is 1464, an increase of 54. Teachers and pupil teachers aggregate 3,366, of whom 2115 are females. The total income of Education Board's was £467,943 an increase of £22,000. There are 69 native village schools with 126 teachers and 2675 pupils. The number of children on the books in Industrial Schools is 1,515 a decrease of ten. Of these 416 are boarded out, and 569 out at service. Duriny the year Government paid for 21 pupils at the School for the Blind.

Of the temperance banquet to the Hon W. Hall-Jones, the Timaru Herald writes:— " The arrangements' were unique and very filling at the price. The menu at this banquet started with sandwiches, sausage rolls, and a miscellaneous assortment of pastry, washed down by copious draughts of tea and coffee. The company took an hour over that act of madness, and a spectator and parcipitator has informed in that no time was lost, and that the run on solids and fluids was brisk in a surprising degree. Then the cups and saucers wore cleared away, and the second course made its appearance. We are told that it c insisted of plenty more pastry, fruit of various ki'idj, and bullseye and conversation lollies. Tho attack on all hands was again brisk, and the committee had provided a wine curd comprising such choice vintages, as ginger-pop, lemouade, and gingeralc, or glorified ginger beer, as we have heard it called. But as the evening wore on certain suspicious looking bottles made an appearance, and on being tested proved to contain very fair whisky. The company bo" gan to take to it kindly, and it is said to have had a soothing and settling effeot upon those who psrlook of &

Messrs Nolan, Tonics and Co's sale takes place on Tuesday, for which additional entries are notified.

The following nominations have been received for the Waimate Road Board :—John Stevenson, Wm. Blennerhassett, Wm. Borrie, Bobert Palmer, F. W. Wilkie.

An extraordinary accident ocourred to the newly started battery of the Waihi-Silverton Gold Mining Company, which is thus described in the managers report to his directors :— ■" At the battery only 20 head of stampers have been working for part of the week owing to an acoident to the large turbine. By some means a tremendous eel got in the pipe and became fast in the turbine, and it was not until it had broken 17 out of the 24 doors of the turbine that it was cut in two and released. At first I was unable to ascertain what had done the damage, but when half of the eel was found in the tail race I knew the oause of it. The eel is the largest ever seen in the district, its backbone being as large as the bone of a man's arm. I have had new doors made by Messrs Price Bros., and they are now in, and the mill is crushing with 25 head. The water supply is still limited."—N.Z. Herald.

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