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Pahiatua Herald, Volume V, Issue 588, 29 December 1897, Page 2

Mr Water-gas Watt hopes to havo tho gas laid on in Danevirko by tho Now Year or very soon aftor. An instance of how the thermometer vaiios in Napier—Sunday 80 degrees in tlto shade at noon, Monday 81. The sum of A‘so has been forwarded from Napier for tho Amalgamated Society of Engineers. A man named James Fenton attempted suicide in Wellington on Sunday by swallowing a quantity of match heads. Ho was taken to tho hospital, whoro ho was brought round. A departmental inquiry into tho circumstances ol the accident which nearly resulted in derailing the excursion train near Pahiatua oil the occasion of the opening of tho Woodvillo railway is to he hold. Tho criminal libel against John Norton, of Truth, and George Lonsdale, has been tried at Armidale, Now South Wales, for making accusations ngainst the Minister ol ih connection witli a land transaction. A sensational phase was given to tho caso by one of Norton’s witnesses, a woman, making an allega tion of immorality against Mr Carruthors. Tho Judge prohibited tho publication of tho ovidenco till the othvr side had been heard. y’Jio local band on Christmas Eve were provided \/ith a coach and driver bv Mr job Vile and w&o ‘driven round to the houses of leading residents plai ting at Mr Job Vile’s residence at 11 p.m. When they arrived at I Liu Worship the Mayor’s (Mr J. D. Wilson) they found I* vor' choice Slipper prepared. 11 is Worsfiip treated them most hospitably. Tho carols played 'tit %jie va*iou;i rosi dt iices were greatlv The baud was r*

Interesting reading will be found on the fourth page. A child's boot has been found and left at this office. Owner can get it. Greuthead, of Masterton, won the maiden race at the sports on Boxing Day, O. Leary second, and Cook third. The lamp in private letter box compartment at the local po*t office might be lit more systematically. We would mention the matter only it being Christmas lime we feel charitably disposed. In the opinion of old identities there was a larger crowd in the streets on Christmas eve than has ever assembled in previous years. Good business has been done this Christmas, and the various business people are quite satisfied with their turnover. This is satisfactory. Mr F. Mowlern, a brother of one of the principals of the firm of Mowlern and Co., has joined the staff of the Palnatua branch. He entered on duty to-day. Messrs Abraham and Williams’ stock sale at Pahiatua on Tuesday next, the 4ih inst., will commence at 2 p.m. and not 1 p.m. as usual. The public is requested to note the change of time. We give a final reminder of the Farmers’ Association’s stock sale at Pahiatua to-morrow. Further additions to the list are made to-day. The Salvation Army provided residents with sweet melodious carol singing on Christmas Eve. The singers voices sounded weird in the early hours, but the sound of the falling coin was music to the ears of the earnest singers. At Christchurch on Sunday morning at 6.80 o’clock, a youth named Comerford, a clerk in Whitcombe and Tombs’, a son of the master of the Maungamunu Native School, was drowned at Sumner while bathing. lie dived from a boat and did not come up again. The body has not been recovered. News has been received of a fatal accident in Gebbie’s Valley, Canterbury. Two young men named George Manson and Charles Pym went out shooting on Christmas day, when ihe latter shot at a rabbit, but the charge struck Manson on the head, and blew half of his skull off.

The following is the amount of postage work «*„ the Chief Post Office, Christchurch, for the five days between 20ih and 24th December, both inclusive : 56,266 letters, 77,04 H books, 29,947 newspapers. The extra correspondence received during the same period would be about. 120,000 over the average. The Times understands that a Royal Commission is to be appointed to investigate the condition of the kauri gum industry north of Auckland, and especially the subject of contract labor. The commissioners will be Mr Mueller, Commissioner of Crown Lands, Auckland, and Mr Tregear, Secretary of the Labor Department. William Rowlands, aged about 36 years, met with his death on Saturday night or Sunday morning by falling down the stairs of the Terminus Hotel at Duntroon, O&maru. He stayed at the hotel over night, and nothing was known of the occurrence till the morning, when he was found by the servant girl with his neck broken.

Mr' Vile notifies that he will, if sufficient inducement offers, stnd a fourhorse coach to Makuri on New Year’s morning under the pilotage of that popular jehu Mr John Prenter. This should be an attractive outing (given a fine day) and no doubt numbers will take advantage of the opportunity of visiting this beautiful locality with its weird precipices, waterfalls, and nikau pal.ns. William Watt, a well-known storekeeper, died at Hokitika on Friday evening. He had been in a bad state for some time, and did not recover from the shock of the fire which destroyed the buildings on the opposite side of the street a week ago. He had to be moved out of bed, as the house he was in caught fire several times, He was a very old resident and an old volunteer. He was accorded a military funeral. The passenger traffic on the Welling-ton-Napier line via Wairarapa has been enormous. That the trains havo been delayed and the time-table a dead letter is not altogether to be wondered at. The public must remember that the new section of the line has only just been opened, and the Department has to grapple with a tough spot (the Rimutuka incline) every trip. These drawbacks, coupled with the enormous holiday crowds, are sufficient to cause delay. Everything will right itself in time. That women should enjoy the political franchise we readily admit, but at the same time we assert they should at once be taught that when travelling on crowded excursion trains they will not be allowed to overload a crowded carriage with a litter of parcels. If a woman cannot travel a one day’s journey by an excursion train without 20 parcels (mostly drapery and millinery), she should be locked up at homo or else lost during the holiday season. We write feelingly, and every man who reads this will endorse it. We have all been there, more’s the pity. Another horse has been killed in Christchurch—a hack entire named Zulu —the property of Mr W. F. M. Buckley, of Dunsandel. It was in the stable at Fendalton, and was found at 5 a.in. on Christmas Day stabbed iu the left jugular, the same way as the other horses have been killed in the last three years. The horse was last seen at N p.m. on Friday. The stable is close to the house where the man in charge of tho horse and two other men slept, but liono of them can give any information on the subject. It is rumoured that a junior is to be appointed to the office of tho Mangatainoka railway station, and also that a porter is to be appointed temporarily. We trust that Dame Rumour is truthful on this occasion. It is undoubtedly cruel tho way tho statiomnastcr has been sweated, and wo feel sure the department were not cognisant of the long heavy hours this officer was on duty or assistance would havo boon provided long ago. Where hundreds of human lives are at stake it behoves the department to see that its officers are not slaved to a pitch beyond which human flesh and blood must fail.

Mr Donne, railway traffic manager, is at present in the district. Wo would therefore urge upon him tho necessity of making some provision whereby the present unsatisfactory arrangements in connection with the Ngawapurua railway gate may bo amended. Telephone communication to the gatekeepers from Woodville and Mangatainoka would end the vexatious delays whieli now occur and save tho travelling public no end of trouble. This matter must be attended to. '-Vo do not wish to needlessly harass the di partment by continued complaints, but at tho same time we consider it our duty to the public to bring those matters before tho proper officials, and we feel sure all reasonable Concessions will bo granted. Up to the present our com plaints have been heard and the department has shown praiseworthy readiness to act. While this proves that the authorities are amenable to reason, it also proves that our demands are fair and reasonable.

Now Year’s Day is fast approaching, and tho only dissipation provided tor Pahiatua is the knife and fork banquet in Mr N ile’s paddock. Canvas tents are to be pitched, and u regular out and out good time is promised. Those responsible for the turn out are in the midst ot preparation, and given line weather the New Year will be celebrated with good fun and frolic. Chess and draughts under canvas in an open field should draw tho aged and staid ; abundance of food, light and heavy, to be partaken of in com for v should draw tho hungry, and numberless games, including borough v. county tug of war, should draw tho young, strong, and frivolous. Taken altogether, the promoters have hit upon f happy plan to welcome in a bright and prosperous New Yeftjk.