LOCAL AND GENERAL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 874, 27 August 1879, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The heavy rains, which fell yesterday,, and nearly all through last night, have again made the roads unfit for traffic. Every description of farm produce is locked up in the out districts ; and the consequence -is that we have to send to Napier, Auckland, and Tauranga, for a description of supplies which should be obtainable within five or six miles of our doors, if the roads were passable. We are requested to remind the members of the Pates des Confitures Quadrille Class that the usual weekly assembly will take place to-night, in the Masonic Hall. The Rev. David Bruce, Presbyterian Minister, is a candidate for Parliamentary honors. The honorarium, Bellamy's, and the applause of admiring constituences appear of late, to supersede the usefulness of the pulpit with ministers of religion. Mr. Allan McDonald has announced that he will address the electors and nonelectors of the Poverty Bay District in the Masonic Hall on Friday, the 29th instant, at 7.30. p.m. He had Jbeen requested by many of his supporters to select an earlier date, for the meeting, but could|not well do sojas the two public halls have been engaged to-night, and on account of the Presbyterian soiree being held to-morrow night. By deferring his address to Friday, he will certainly insure a larger attendance of residents to hear his views on public matters affecting the colony and those relating to this locality in particular. This morning thirty of the Ngataporou tribe was mustered at the rear of the Government Buildings, previously to being forwarded to New Plymouth, via Wellington, by the Hinemoa. The whole of the number of the corps are young men, selected by Captain Porter, and although deficient in physique, will doubtless, be found admirably adapted for bush fighting should a necessity arise. These young men are to be attached to the Armed Constabulary force, and, if our telegrams, which appear in this afternoon's issue be correct, it is more than probable a still larger force than that dodpatched of the Ngataporous will be needed. There appears to be trouble looming in the distance. The road through Pipiwaka Bush has been closed (vide advvertisement) while the Bridge over the main drain is being made. Messrs. Harris and Fergusson have kindly consented to allow travellers to pass through their Bush paddock, but they are requested not to trespass on the grass paddocks near the house. The temporary track is much nearer the river than the road. , Three ocean-going steamers lent a lively appearance to our harbour this morning. There were the Colonial Government steamer Hinemoa, the Hawea, and the Penguin. From these vessels a number of passengers landedj; but very few to remain with us, the bulk merely being Birds of passage. Mf. W. P. Finneran, architect, calk for the erection of the Hospital. Tenders are to be in not later than noon on Thurday, 4th September. Messrs Ferris and Pitt will sell by auction to-morrow at Makaraka, the whole of the plant, tools, stock-in-trade, &c,, in the estate of Peter Sorry ; also, at the same place, a small mob of cattle from the Coast. Captain John Skinner, master of the Minnie Hare, says the Hawke's Bay Herald has been arrested at Auckland on a charge of a breach of the Arms Act, 1860. The circumstances under which the charge has been made are, we understand, as follows : — On the]lßth of June last Captain Skinner took three guns on board his vessel when she was leaving Gisborne for Awanui and Auckland. It is alleged that when the vessel reached Auckland the guns were not on board, and it is suspected that they were disposed of the natives at Awanui, where there being no Customs officer the vessel was not searched. A telegram from Auckland states that the return of the Greyite party amounts e to a dead certaianty, and that they will b o in a majority in proportion of three t one. On the subject of the honorarium vote, the New Zealand Herald writes : — " The curious feature of the affair is this, that the members, who have thus plunged their hands int he public treasury, would shrink aghast from anything wrong or mean in connection with their private affairs. And why this difference ? Because, apparantly there are two consciences, the private and the public ! the private, which, is all that it should be ; the public, which has a different estimate of right and wrong." The following Press Agency telegram from_Christchurch appears in the Wellington Times of the 15th instant : — " Sergeant O'Malley, who has been travelling in search of information in the case of M'Lennan, committed at Napier on a charge ofeinurdering bis wife, it is said has discovered important evidence of motive for the crime." Mr Levin, one of the Wellington candidate, would appear to be tryiug to introduce the the practices which would have made him a sucessful man of business into the line of politics. According to the Chronicle, this gentleman, who is" one of the wealthiest merchants in the city, sent an agent to the office with the proposal that the advertisements connected with his candidature should be taken by contract, and a considerable discount allowed off the regular scale ! Sharp, no doubt, but questionable policy. Mr. Greenfield, another candidate, a large employer, of labor, is reported to have made a similar proposal.

From information by Captain Williams, a large coal importer, the " Post " has an article on the working of the Vend system at Newcastle, which it considers tyrannical and unjust. It says the vend liinits the output of coal, and consequently an importer arriving at Newcastle and wishing to obtain a cargo of the better quality of coal, say "A A" or " CoOperative," finds that both mines are closed owing to the operation of the vend system, and he has to put up with an inferior quality from another mine, for which, however, he has to pay the same price or allow his vessel to be idle or go away without a full cargo. It is not a combination of labour against capital to obtain its rights ; it is a combination of labour and capital against the public to extort an unfair profit from every consumer ;of the Newcastle coal. The Australian coal-miners are the sufferers. The old. 'Lambton mine has strenuously held out against the vend system, believing that it was unfairly handicapped by it, and the Union having induced a number of men to strike the present difficulty has arisen.