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Patea Mail, Volume I, Issue 50, 2 October 1875, Page 2

Complaints have reached us of the wholesale raid made upon the stacks of firewood stored in the difrerent yards of this town, and wc know of two victims who have charged their logs with gunpowder, and in the event of a chimney or two disappearing to-day, the cause wdi easily be explained, and a further decrease in the much coveted material probably prevented. The tender of Mr Atchison has been accepted for fencing in the .Immigration Reserve, and the contract is now in progress. . :

In our report of the parade of stallions wc wore compelled to omit the measurement and pedigree of the entire Marton Dancer, owing to the horse having retired to its stahlo before the process of measurement begun, and, in justice to Mr Bremer, who could have had no possible opportunity of learning the committee’s intention to apply the tape, we attended Ins stable yesterday, .and supervised tin; measurement, which was a-; follows Marton Dancer is ris.ng four-year-old, by Tradncer, out ef Flora. (lirth, Oft. 2jin. ; arm, ‘23m. ; below knee, f-Aiu.

The contractor is making good progress with the construction of the road through tlii,* Sandhill, and is executing the work in a most faithful manner,,an 1 when completed, will ho a splendid piece of road making. The contractor requests persons to avoid travelling over the road now in course of formation, and to turn oif where tiic rails arc erected. As will l:>o seen by an advertisement in another column, Mr U. Irskino lias rented the stables attached to (lie Australasian Hotel, where buggies (single and doubt-), and saddle hoir.es can he had on the shortest notice, and at moderate terms. We trust that Mr Irskine’s spirited venture will meet with the. patronage it des awes.

We are inform d (hat the Patea Education Board have coammnieted with Mr Inspector Leo, requesting that gentleman 1o nominate a teacher to fondnet the schools shortly to be established at Kaka-

rampa and Manntahi on the half-iimo system. While agreeing with Mr Lee’s fitness to select a suitable gentleman, we most strongly protest against our schoolmaster:-; being appointed aft or the fashion above, indicated, as we arc of opinion that, the Beard should not ho limited to choice iml should call for applications in the usual way. and select she host teacher offering. I’y adopting this course, the Beard is more likely to secure a higher standard of teaching in the schools than resorting to the mischievous nominee principle. Wc learn that the charge-sheet to he presented to the HaweraCDnrt next Saturday contains an usually large number of criminal informations, together with a moderate civil list.

A sitting of tlie Native Land Court will he hold cm i at the Court House, Patea, on Thursday, November 411 1 . Constable Wallace is now engaged in disseminating the notification among (lie -Maoris of the i'atea List riot 'Dio Patea West Load Board invito tenders for works on .Sandhill part of Lane Hoad, (ill 2 p. m. on Monday, October 11th. Plans and specifications may be seen at Mr William Dale’s.

Thu Wanganui sportsmen scorn simio-

whaf. alarmed ;it (ho racing “ cracks 1 wc haw hi 111 ;r midst. Ih-garding tho mare a" 1 i!•:«•<I lu in (ho Wantjanci Chronicle of ill.: t!Bth ult., and wliicli wo publish bolow., wo cannot at present fathom the mystery) as we have so many ‘‘dark-un's ” in our district, all of which are spoken of as well : “ A dark'-im." —I’atoa iurlites be on your guard ! For what purpose i■ as (hai snare will) (ho mysterious surroundmgs boon introduced (■> yonr district V i >.) you want a si-dor oi 1 Haired.” or do v.iii r-ajuiro a scion of Mi- Noswunhy's famoiis stud for breeding purposes? Surely yon have now in yonr midst- the 11 con blood relation to Luriino that ever pressed PaScalurf. Wo arc not romancing. A very pretty game is being worked, and perhaps after the tub and 1 Oih oi, November yon will understand bow pioiiiivyon have been sold. Wo repeat, be on your guard.” Mr F. A. Lcarmoutb, Land Agent and Immigration Agent at Hokitika, mot with a serious accident on Monday last, from a pistol shot. He was shooting a stray cat in his hack yard when the pistol went oil. The shot penetrated near tho heart. There are little hopes of recovery. George Graham Eyes, formerly clerk in the Christ,church Post Office, was committed for trial, on Monday last, for stealing letters. He had been suspected for some time, but no proof could bo obtained until a short time ago, wnen a bundle of papers, including several letters, addressed (<> other people, were accidentally found between his box and the wali of the hotel where he had been staying. Jno police were sent for, ana on the oox being opened more letters addressed to other people wore found. A shocking tragedy, which occurred at the Mount Pleasant Mine, Scranton, is reported bv the New York Tinier, by wuich two boys named Henry Welsh and John Owens, were crushed to death in a coal screen. Both lads were employed in the screen room, with about sixty others, “cracker boys,” separating the slate from the coal. Welsh was in the act of stepping across the screen, when his foot was caught in the pondcrc us machine, which was revolving slowly. His cries brought to his aid his companion Owen, a boy of some fifteen years of age, who bravely, and in the face of a fearful death, sought to extricate him. In the effort his arm was caught in the screen, and before the machinery could be brought to a standstill both boys were crushed in a shapeless m iss. The bravo .conduct of the _ boy ihveu, who gave hisiffc in the unavailing attempt to save Ids comrade, is one of the noblest examples of youthful heroism on record.

The following’ description of the poisoned arrows used by the Santa Cruz islanders, and with one of which they killed Commodore Goodenongdi, appears in the Melbourne Herald :—“ The Santa Cruz poisoned arrows the writer has seen and handled, and the process of making them was described to him by a Mari Lava (an island near Santa Cruz) chief, who used similar ones. The shaft is made of a red mifcaihoml ; about two inches of its point is made of part of the, leg-bone of a man dead about six months ; this bone is split, cut, and ground to a barbed point ; it is then steeped and saturated in the decomposed Hash of a human being dead about a week, is hd't in’this - about a week or ten days, and then dipped repeatedly in the thickened juices of certain poison plants common to the South Sea Islands. Tins point is then fastened loosely in the rude shaft, so that after penetration, on trying to pull the arrow out, the poisoned barb remains in the wound. In a native war, on a man being wounded with one of these arrows, his friends give linn all their poisoned ones, ami he runs into the thick of (lie light, and wounds all he can until ho drops, which lie does in about two or three hours, dying in groat pain. This chief says that nothing known to the natives can cure ill' effects of these arrows. The slightest wound is death, and no instance is known of recovery, if once fairly wounded by a poisoned arrow. These Santa Cruz is. landers are the most treacherous in tin Tad lie, and even their island neighbours describe them as bloodthirsty cannibals. Many a becalmed and lone trader have they cut out, and only lately they attacked one of 11. M. cruisers itself, when becalmed, and the big gun bad to be used to beat them off,”

The Dunedin Star'* Wellington correspondent says : —Tho member for (he (Jlulha possesses more originality than most people give him credit for. To him is due the credit of discovery that abolition will give the Government power of so controlling- the army of civil servants then under them that it would be impossible to contest an elect ion with any one in their interests. In support of his argument he read a classified list of the civil service, now amounting to 5,200 persons’ On pensions there are 20 : stamps, 44 . printing, besides apprenticeships, 42 ; store, 5 ;geological, 8 ; electoral, 3 ; crown lands, 8 ; inspectors of machinery, 8; law and justice, including District and Resident Magislrate’s Courts, 24(5 ; land transfer, HO ; deeds registry, 32 ; postal, 911 ; telegraphs, CS9H : customs and services, 21 I ; European and Native a Hairs, 228 ; masters of Native schools, 40 ; miscellaneous, 105 .; on railways open for tratlin, bB2 ; besides Provincial Armed Constabulary, 737 ; conliscatcd lands, 18 ; defence and loan.! 738 ; public works, 3!0 ; immigration, 98 ; Commissioner of Crown lands, 13 I receivers o! land revenue, 7 ; Native Lunds Court, 27 ; inspectors of surveys, 11 ; and irii.-d. funds, 30. Tim Sonc-ra (Toumume county) /wk-pf-ml fill of 12th 3 mie, relates tho toil owing wonderful store :---‘‘Last Sal urday, 4 udge Monkey, of Merced, discharged ono of bis hired men, who was a continued drunkard. The nian staved in .Merced city until the following .Monday, when he departed for La Grange, Inking the precaution to take a gallon of gin along. Nothing was area of him .after this until Wciiaesday. when two small boys Jiving just outside of La Grange, ran into their father's house in great alarm, sayitig that there was a, man on the road who was burning up. Such proved to be the case. 'l'lm unfortunate man by his excess in drinking had dost roved ills energies, and cheiuieal agenls had ouiained the ascendency so the hydrogen of alcoholic drinks had combined with the phosporous of the body, forming plios" pinm-ted hydrogen, which ignited spontaneously, and the wretched man died it most appalling death.” By way of caution to experienced persons in the habit of using kerosene lamps wc record a curious accident which happened to Mr Vincent, of the Telegraph Department in Gisborne, on Saturday evening last, as recorded by the Por-rritj JJrti/ Standard. Mr Vincent, it appears, (adopted n common but very dangerous method of “blowing out. tin- light,” when an explosion took place. The lamp being suspended above his head the ignited kerosene quickly covered Ids head and shoulders burning him very severely. Assistance Being readily at hand, Mr Vincent was re. moved from a danger which might, otherwise, have ended lat ally. The patient progressing as favourably as can lie expected. The Auckland Ecenauj Star has the following : “An old woman, apparently about sixty, with the weight of years upon her, was brought into the police station on charges of drunkenness and disorderly conduct. As soon as the venerable dame was ensconced in the lock-up, she began to scream and dance, and make most hideous noises, and it was impossible to stay her voluble tongue. At length she broke out into a song : When I was young ami beautiful, Ah, many years ago ; I was indeed the prettiest girl That Waterford could show.

It was supposed that the woman’s mind is affected, or that she is suffering: from the influence of the bottle*. She will be introduced into the court in the morning.

We fear that the local committee appointed to collect exhibits for the forthcoming- Philadelphia Exhibition arc not bestiring themselves, and Patea is likely to be unrepresented at the great American exhibition. As we find all other districts active, we trust that the local committee will not allow the interests of Patea to suffer through their apathy. Wo trust that, the settlers will aid the efforts of the committee bv sending good-exhibits, as wo learn that all (lie trouble and expense connected with !lie assortment and packing in Wellington and transmission to will bo born; bv the General Government.