Untitled

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 9036, 3 January 1901, Page 2

The Borough Council meets on Tuesday evening^at 7.30. . , The Mararoa mode a smart passage o£ 20£ hours from Auckland to Gisborne. The Court holidays terminate to-day. This week's civil sittings will be taken to-morrow morning. A number of local residents who spent their holidays m Auckland returned by the Mararoa yesterday. j The Post Office staff is being increased 4)y one from the beginning of next week, one of the telegraph, messengers benig promoted to the mail room. Two large stingarees were caught on fishing lines at the breakwater one day during the holidays, a fact which should make bathers on the beach careful, though it is possible that these ugly customer* may not come through the surf. A traveller/from Gisborne to Wifiroa via Nuhaka, last week hod a lively experience on the Sandhills He rode into a swarm of bees, which stung both rider and his horse and dogs, following up their quarry four or five chains. The Hawera Star says that haymaking is goiing on on all sides, and heavy crops have, been gathered. The cocksfoot harvest m the district is expected to start m about a week. Reports as tt the quality of the crop are favorable. . Messrs Webb and Sons, the contractors for the new post-office, have secured a supply from a first-class brick-making plant established by Mr White oi Whataupoko. The output is aL machine pressed, ■ a fact that ensures not only an abundant supply, but excellence of quality-also. Arrangement* are now -being made for an immediate start with the work. Great interest is being taken m the cribbage tournament going on at the New Zealand Natives' Association Clubrooms. The first round was played last evening, the result being: G. Maxted ' and W. Andrews beat H. Miller and S. i Parsons, and P. Maher and J. Blair teal W. Webb and R. Henzler. Mr S. F. Williams, of the telegraph staff, before leaving Waipawa. was made the subject of a presentation by the staff of the post office, and the Amatem i Dramatic Society gave him an illuminated [address, expressing their regret at losi ing one who had done such good service j to the club both as secretary and as a performer. Mr Williams had been a ' good citizen, and had taken a lively interest m the affairs of the town, being ever ready to assist m anything that was being done. They could -not let him leave Waipawa without some mark of the esteem m which he was held. He would carry with him the good wishes of the whole town, his unfailing goodness of heart having made him deservedly popular. . . Mr A. JB. Paterson, .the war correspondent, is m love with New Zealand, the green fields, running streams, and magnificent forests of which appeal to his instincts as a pastoralist and a bushman. He states that he has been splendidly treated during his tour through the colony, but his one complaint against the people is that when he commences to speak m praise of the New Zealand soldiers, of whom he saw so much during the campaign, there are invariably some m the audience who profess to imagine that he is simply trying to say things that will please them, quite ignoring the fact that lie gave utterance to the same complimentary reference to our boys m his first lecture m Sydney, believing, ' he assures us, that what he asserted was plain gospel truth. ~ i

The statutory meeting of the Harbor Board for the presentation of the annual balance-sheet will be held on Monday, 14th inst. ! It is probable the charge of threatening to commit suicide preferred against Al- ■ bert Higgs, and adjourned till to-mor-row, will be treated as a case of drunkenness. The volley and independent firing of the Gisborne Rifles has so far been very satisfactory, more than an average number of members having qualified for marksmanship. On Tuesday night the non-commissioned officers of the East Coast Mounted Rifles were examined m the practical part of their drill. Yesterday Sergeants Hellier Evans, Allan, Tombleson, and Beere were put through their theory tests at the Drillshed, Captain Winter and Ser-geant-Major Crespin superintending. A re-arrangement of -the Whatatutu mail service has been made, and will come^into force on Monday next. The mail leaves Gisborne on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 10 a.m., arrives at Te Karaka 3 p.m., and Whatatutu 5 p.m. ; returning on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from Whatatutu 7 a.m., Karaka 9 a.m., and reaching Gisborne 1 p.m. The New Century Committee have m hand about £22 "towards paying the expenses of Monday night's demonstration. Of this amount about £19 was raised by the collection taken during the progress of the celebrations, and £3 odd resulted from the Boxing Night concert. It is estimated that from £10 to £13 will be required to cover the total expenses incurred. The total, gate takings at the Military Tournament on Tuesday amounted to about £30. It is estimated that, with the Government allowance of 3s per day per "man, this will fully pay all the camp expenses. The MountejLß.ifles are now considering plans for raising funds for Drillshed purposes, and a move m that direction will m all probability be made very shortly. On Tuesday at the Bowling Green rinks respectively captained by the Vice-Presi-dents of the .Gisborne Bowling Club and and of the Northern Bowling Association met, the latter winning, after a keen contest, by 8 points. Tie respective aggregates were 34— 42. Hennessy's rink (20) was beaten by McGowan's (23). During the ..holidays other games were played a& follows: McGowan's rink (26) beat Simson's (15) ; Price's (33) beat Johnson's (16); and Simson's v. Birss 1 resulted m favor of the former by 25 to 14. Bandmaster Aston, of the Whataupoko Brass Band, intends to visit the Old Country shortly, and on that account is giving up the position of "conductor. During his period of control Mr Aston has inaugurated a system of energetic practice thatjias resulted m steady progress being made. His place is being taken by Mr McKellop, champion solo cornet player at the Dunedin Exhibition, and under his painstaking leadership an era of even greater progress should be inaugurated. • Considerable interest attaches to the express delivery of letters and parcels now m force m connection witn. the postal service. For an extra fee af 6d for one mile, 9d for two miles, or Is for three miles, letters or parcels marked "Express delivery," and bearing stamps for the amount of the delivery fee, m addition to the ordinary postage, will be delivered by telegraph "messenger immediately on receipt anywhere within three miles of any of the principal post offices of the colony, including Gisborne. We regret to learn thab Mr John McKenzie, of the Gisborne Post Office staff, last night received the distressing intelligence of his father's sudden death, which occurred at Mornington, Dunedin, shortly after eight o'clock last evening. Deceased hod been m the colony for many years,- and, notwithstanding his 68 years of varied experience, was right up to the time of his death hale and hearty, and had always been noticeable for his well-preserved appearance. He leaves » widow, and a family of eight, of— whom Mr McKenzie is the eldest. Minohs are very troublesome' m some of the country districts, destroying the fruit crops, and m various other ways displaying their mischievous propensities. As showing the daring of these birds, it is related by a Patutahi Valley resident -that recently, whilst a lot of potatoes were being boiled m a kerosene tin outside the house, a tninah flew to the edge of the steaming tin and, regard- . less of the heat from the fire underneath . and of the vegetables themselves, . was , seen to pick away at the potatoes m a . most voracious manner. 1 It is certain that there would have been a much larger attendance of visiting bowlers at the Tournament to be held m Gisborne next week had different dates been arranged, business people finding it vevy inconvenient to leave their businesses so soon after the Christmas and New Year holidays. Although Mr. Mentiplay has wired that a team is being sent from the Auckland Club, Mr T. Brown, the first arrival, who comes to skip for Ponsonby, states that when he left on Tuesday night it was considered extremely unlikely that an Auckland ' team would get awayw I The new mail service between Gisborne and Opotiki is being instituted this week. Mr G. W. Sampson, Chief Postmaster, ' supplies' us with the time-table, which is !as follows^: Leave Gisborne Friday,—lo 1 a.m., arrive Poututu Saturday 9 a.m., Whakarau 11 a.m., Rakararoa, 5 p.m., Motu 6 p.m.; leave Motu 2 p.m. Thursday, arrive OpotiM 5 p.m. Friday. It thus takes over a week for the Gisborne mail to get to Opotiki. , The mail leaves Opotiki at. 7 a.m. on Wednesdays, arrives Motu Thursday .1 p.m., leaves Friday 7 a.m., Whakarau 10 a.m., Poututu 1 p.m., and arrives Gisborne 1 p.m. Saturday, 3i days from Opotiki. Mr C. H. W. Dixon, Secretary of the Gisborne Bowling Club, has received a wire from Mr Mentiplay, Secretary of the Northern Bowling Association, stating that the following clubs will send rinks to the tournament to be held here next week: Auckland, Wellington, Victoria, Masterton, Palmerston, Ponsonby, Napier, Bluff Hill, Hastings, Newmarket, and Mount Eden. The southern bowlers arrive on Sunday morning, and the northerners on Saturday afternoon. The Committee will meet at 9 o'clock on Monday morning, and play will start at 10. Two games will be played on Monday. It is somewhat surprising that with so many people back from the war, tonight's lecture should be the first opportunity Gisborne residents will have had of hearing direct from the lips of an eyewitness the story of the campaign. This is accounted fo* by the lucky fact that none of the fifty odd men sent from this district have yet arrived back invalided, and that the other war lecturer, Mr Macdonald, was unable to come and visit us. Mr "Banjo" Paterson has, however,^ mode the opportunity before closing his New Ze&and tour, and we' ore sure that; if his platformj-lectures are half so pleaiant and interesting as his private talks, his audiences will come away delighted with what they have heard; and feeling that they gained a great deal of information that they, would not otherwise have obtained. It is somewhat of a coincidence that the two first arrivals m Gisborne from the battlefield be war correspondents. A fellow-"passen- J ger with Mr Paterson by the Mararoa yesterday was Mr J. A. Shand, who accompanied the New Zealand regiment throughout the campaign, and graphically described their doings for the N.Z.I Herald and other journals. Mr Shand is paying a brief visit to Gisborne before taking up his work again on the Auckland Herald. He contracted ague during the war, but is now completely convalescent. ! Subscribers to the telephone exchange may now enjoy the privilege of procuring errand boys from the telegraph office. A special messenger will be placed at the. disposal of any exchange subscriber on request being made to the exchange. Such messenger may be utilised for running an errand, ordering a cab, deliver ing a small parcel or letter, or any similar service. The fee to be paid will be 6d for one mile, 9d for two miles, and Is for three miles ; but beyond three miles and up to five miles, cab-hire, or return tram fare, must be paid, m addition to the mileage fee. The whole of the messenger's journey will be counted as from the post office. For example, if the telephone , exchange subscriber lives half-a-mile from' the, office, and the messenger has. to deliver an article a mile beyond the subscriber's residence, the charge will be as for two miles. In the event of a boy being required to deliver a number of parcels or letters to different addresses, or to return with a reply, the charge will be at the rate of Is for the first hour and 6d for. each succeeding half -hour or portion thereof. _ The regulations do not provide for the boys being hired for such menial service as minding babies, but that will doubtless come.

The programme for the Gisborne .Racing Club's Steeplechase Meeting m July will be issued during April. I Ten surveyors are at present cutting up ( the Langdale Estate, near Mosterton, for . settlement purposes. A smoke concert has been arranged for next Friday evening m connection with the Bowling Tournament. The programme of the race meeting to be held at Tolago Bay on ,March j.Bth appears m our advertising columns today. On New Year's Day Messrs- Glover and Co.'s small oil launch Iranui ran on excursion from Tolago Bay to Cook's Cove. This pleasant run was enjoyed by over 100 people. * The papers of the East Coast Mounted "non-coms." are expected back from Wellington m about a fortnight. It is expected that the men will acquit themselves very creditably." The following sections have been applied for at the Lands Office : 2 and 6, block 8, Waimarie, and 23 and 49, Te Araroa Township. The successful applicant will be decided at the Land Board meeting on the 18th inst. Bugler Dudley Evans it was who sounded the calls at the Military Tournament on Tuesday. This lad is a most promising bugler, and performed his arduous duties with promptness, credit to himself and satisfaction to the corps and its officers. Next week the Teachers' Certificate Examinations, Civil Service, and Junior Scholarship tests will be held throughout the colony. Mr Stopford will supervise here. There will be only one candidate here for a D certificate— Miss Siddels of Morere. The Grosser Karfurst, the big German liner lent to the New South Wales Government for the accommodation of their guests, has attracted much attention m Sydney. She is 1000 tons bigger than any vessel that had previously visited the port, and is a magnificent specimen ot ship architecture." On one trip she carried 2500 people across the Atlantic. Our Napier correspondent wires thai the following teams have been chosen to represent the local bowling clubs at the Championship Tournament at Gisborne next week: Napier— J. H. Swan, K. Bristy, J. G. Gilbert, E. Evans, emergency J. P. Smith; Bluff Hill— H. P' Newton, T. Carson, A: Kennedy, E. Crowley. The teams leave by Saturday night's steamer. Last night the Gisborne Rifles were drilled m the street outside the Drill Shed by Lieutenant Lewis and Bold. Various evolutions were performed m axtended order, and the men were put through their manual and bayonet dnil, acquitting themselves with credit. During the holiday week some £500 has been received m rates by the Borough Council. • J b An ecellent method of celebrating the exit of the nineteenth and the advent of the twentieth century was suggested by Dr. Erson, Mayor of Onehunga. He endeavored to obtain a combination of ali religious denominations, together with their choirs, to celebrate the event on the lines of a Methodist watch-night service, when all would join m singing the Doxology as the clock struck 12 o'clock. This year the Borough Council will probably make sodw important changes m conformity with the provisions of the recently-passed Municipal Corporations A 9,V , -^ number of new responsibilities will have to be undertaken, and one of the questions that will be discussed at an early date will be that of the erection of abattoirs. It is proposed to divide the responsibility between the Borough and County Councils. The control of the Government tourist resorts is to be transferred from the Department of Lands and Survey to that of Railways. It is quite time that a change took place. Up to the ■ present sucessive Governments have failed to realise fully the value of the asset the colony possesses m its natural wonders, and the remarkable properties of it« healing waters. Our magnificent scenery of bush and river, mountain (range and fjord, as yet "receives scarcely one-hun-dredth part of the attention it deserves. — Christchurch Press. The Tolago Bay Sports on New Year's pay were very successful, the attendance being large and the races goo*d. The Maiden was won by James Mulligan, with Norman Spence second. R. Holden won the Boys' Handicap, and the places m the Uawa Handicap were _N. McKay 1, Ramiera 2. Mr H. Mai-tin's Wong Wong j won the Hack Race ; Mr McNeil's Shela the District Pony Race, the same owner appropriating- the Leaping Match with Maori Boy. F. Grace first breasted the tape m the Sack Race; N. Spence carried off the Hauiti Handicap ; A. Rangbui annexed first award m the Cigar .Race and the Thread the Needle Race; Maati easily defeated all comets m the 150 Yards Open^Handicap, and A; Thatcher, out of thirty competitors, was easily first m the Tilting at the Ring Competition. The Gisborne Racing Club stewards, met at Mr Nasmith's office last evening, when the secretary presented the balancesheet of the recent meeting. This showed that receipts from all sources totalled £945 17s. Stakes aggregated £424 lOsj and other expenses £326 10s Id, making a total of £721/0s Id. This leaves a net balance of £194 16s lid. The treasurer (Mr G. Matthewson) reported that the Summer Meeting had proved both financially and m merit as a sporting fixture a. success. Receipts under all headings showed an increase, and notwithstanding that the Club paid all stakes m full (giving £16 more than last year), the profit was a substantial one, as would be seen by the balance-sheets Of course, the "walk-over" m the County Stakes reduced the total of receipts considerably, although ls?sening the amount) to be paid "away. The Club was to be congratulated on the attendance and the general pleasantness of the gathering. Those present voted the result highly satisfactory. , ' . • . Fun was rife m the East Coast Mounted Rifles' camp during the lost few days of its existence. A cadet, probably tired of the experience, packed up and left, acquainting no one of his intention or movements. ' But one of the officers of the cadets .noticed his absence. Promptly summoning a file of men, he went ofi on the trail of the missing "man," whom he found at Roebuck road wending his weary way homeward. A halt was Quickly callgd, and the business of the pursuing file explained. Amid expostulation and entreaty, threats of vengeance, and many fiery breathings, the deserting "youngster was relentlessly dragged back to camp, and unceremoniously dumped m the, guard tent, a guard being posted. Sergeant-Major Orespin (galloped over to see what this meant/and was immediately and proudly informed by the "veteran sentry -that ."we've got a prisoner, sir." The deserter did 154 hours, anyway. The frolicsome element m the camp got to work on New Year's Eve, pulling down tents, and exhibiting their spoitiveness m many other ways. ! One squad was caught afr work, or a representative of them was, and vengeance ' sure and summary was dealt out to him. 1 In a trace he was attired m Nature's own light garments, and willing hands, ' assisted by Day and Martin's best, soon imparted to his skin all the smartness and ' gloss of a full-blooded Ethopian. I Queensland has just been shocked by '■ the investigation of a sensational railway 1 scandal lately • brought under the notice of the Legislature. The matter was en- ' quired into by Judge Mansfield, and he '. has now made public his decision. It ap- • pears that m November, 1899, Mr H. J. Withers, Queensland representative of the British Colonial Railways Corporation, and the applicant for the Port Norman and Cloncurry Railway Bill, had written' "IT letter 'to Mr Daniels, ex-member for Cambooya, on the subject of the Bill. He offered Mr Daniels a .£125 share m a syndicate m which each member would have his subscription repaid, and get 650 fully paid shares into, the bargain, if the Bill went through Judge Mansfield decided that Withers did not expect the money -back from Daniels if the Bill failed, and that it was a deliberately offered bribe. The Premier, therefore, withdrew i the .Cloncurry Railway Bill, and stated an attempt would be mode to prosecute 'Withers. It is altogether an unfortunate episode, for Normantbn is robbed of ( its railway through no fault of its own, The position of Mr Daniels was' further compromised by the fact that he is a pour man, and hopes to return to Parliament as the result of an election petition. An enquiry,; into tW-last election at- Cambooya reveals the fact that about 58 false entries were made m the rolls, and at least 10 signatures m connection with the enrolment were forged. Altogether the political atmosphere of Queensland seems a little murky just now.

Owing to the Southern bowlers not arriving here before Sunday, it has been arranged to extend the time for closing entries to Monday morning at 8 o'clock. It is probable that more will be heard of the tohunga cast! recently reported. Two stray jjjgeoris have deposited themselves at tne Argyll Hotel. boili appear to be homers, and one, a daiK slate ■color, has a ring on its right leg bearing the figures • 1 9b-9." iHe oiner is lighter m color, and has no identification marks. It is possible that they are pigeons which navel been racing be ween Auckland and Wellington, and have lest their way. The Wellington Prospecting Syndicate, composed of a number of well-known capitalists, are about to put on the market a number of West Coast and other properties that they have- lately been acquiring. The first is the Aorere itiver Uola-dredg-ing Company., with a capital of JblO.Obu. l'Jus company is being formed lor the purpose of acquiring and working bymeans of dredging one mile of the aorere River, distant five miles from Collingwood, Nelson, upon which valuable expert reports are said to have been obtained. Mr H. M. "Porter is the local broker. Mr A. B. Patersbn was an interested spectator of the riding tests for tne Sixth. Contingent at Captain Tucker's paddock this morning. He is mildly critical of tne methods employed, pointing out chut one of the chief essentials is tnat tne troopers should be able to mount and dismount rapidly when under fire, and. better than Jumping the horses over ana hurdles which tne animals might or might not have been able to negotiate, would it have been to let a packet of crackers oif under the horses, and to nave told the candidates to mount and dismount carrying their riUes with them m a soldierly manner. The pennant flag for which the local Bowling Clubs competed has been leeeived from Auckland ' by Mr J. W. Witty. It is a handsome piece of work, the dork blue background of the nag being relieved by a brown centre, on whicn the letters G.W.K. have been prettily worked, to represent the wines of the clubs which competed. At each side of the centrepiece, which also boars the name of the Poverty Bay Bowling Clubs, a cabbage tree has been effectively worked m. This pretty banner, it will be readily conceded by all interested, was well worthy of the keen struggle for its possession which took place. Ihe trophy will be presented to: the winners at 10 o'clock on Monday morning, prior 'o the commencement of the tournament. Rudyard Kipling, m his story of " The Burgher of the Free, State," tells of the sudden conversion of the Bloemfontein paper and its management by the news-, paper correspondents under military control. Mr " Banjo " Paterson has a somewhat different version of the incidents connected with the paper's change of front. Mr Paterson, as - our, readers know, was the first man to get into Bloemfontein, m advance' of the British troops, and shortly after his arrival he made the acquaintance of the editor of the Post, who, having conducted the paper m the. most aggressively. anti-British fashion," and having also been m the Boer trenches 'fighting, lelt a very sick man when he found the town about to fall ' into the hands of Lord Roberts. He told the Australian that he felt like throwing up the job, and Mr Paterson, with the' correspondent of the London Standard, seized the opportunity of securing the management of the paper and remodelling its policy. Accordingly they set to work and wrote an intensely loyal article, which brought the Post's politics quickly to the right about, an article m praise of the colonials, and a description of the fight at Cronje's laager. The issue sold like, hot cakes. Next day, when Mr Paterson and his coadjutor went to the office to get' out the next number, they found a : military guard m charge, Lord Stanley the press censor, having taken possession ana handed the paper over to a committee of the correspondents; Mr Rudyard Kipling worked hard as editor-in-chief, and Mr Paterson contributed a number of special articles.