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Waipawa Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 2712, 23 January 1892, Page 2

On our fourth page will be found articles entitled “ Some Sources of Arsenical Poisoning,” and “An Eventful Voyage.” The Empire Tea Company change their advt in this issue. It will be found on the first page. Several of the Kumeroa ratepayers are agitating that the Waipawa County Council should be asked to take over the Kumeroa Road District. _ Diarrhoea is prevalent now in this district, and two deaths have late’y occurred from it. A man named Hegh was last Thursday sentenced by the local justices at Ormondville to 14 days’ imprisonment for drunkenness and using obscene lauguage at Norsewood on the previous Tuesday. Tuis was the man who was let off rather lightly for a similar offence some time ago. A considerable amonnt of dilatoriness is sometimes observable in the service of summonses issued from the Waipawa R. M. Court. In Petrowski’s case, the summons was served only shoitly before last Court day, though the summons had been taken out and entered on the Court books several months previously. In fact, the case was called on in Court some months ago, though neither party appeared. It seems very unreasonable and unjust that a man should be thus made to appear as a debtor without being given an opportunity to rebut the charge. The Napier Liberal organ finds fault with a Press Association telegram re Mr Buick’s lecture at Waipawa, and says the telegram contains two positive misstate meets, but it takes care not publish the telegram so that its readers may judge for themselves. We invite the curious in such matters to compare our report with that in the aforesaid Liberal organ, and then to say what foundation th ue is for Mr Gannon’s assertion, that the papers will not give fair reports of Liberal addresses.

The Waipukurau District School will be re-opened on Monday first uuder the headmasterskip of Mr. C. J. Cook, the newly appointed teacher. The prizes gained at* last examination will be presented in the School house by Mr .R. Harding at 3 o’clock on Tuesday.

The poll taken by the Weber Road Board resulted in favor of the proposal to borrow £6OOO for forming and metalling the Danevirke-Wainui road through their district. The residents are to be congratulated on sufficient funds being now available for the work, though the Government have neglected to render the assistance which might reasonably have beeu expected.

St James Gazette says:—“Of the numerous victims wnich every winter claims in Russia, many meet their fate through alchol; but an astounding, almost incredible, proof is on recordjas having occurred in St. Peteraburgh under the Minister Potemkin. A large distiller gave a public fete, at which brandy flowed like water* The night was exceedingly cold, and from 15,000 to 18,000 persons were frozen to death on the spot or in the streets. The phenomenon has a double explanation. Alcohol increases susceptibility to cold, and cold inreases the intoxicating effects of alchol. The ‘cool night air* has not the sobering effect invariably attributed to it by the lady novelist (it is to her credit that she doesn’t know better,}, but just the opposite* A man may still able to the table and go forth; but if the air be cold he soon becomes more intoxicated, his limbs refuse to carry him* and he falls down, goes to sleep, and is found in the morning ‘frozen to death.’ ”

The next triennial session of the Anglican General Synod of New Zealand will cooiraeuce its sittings iu Wellington on Wednesday week, the 3rd February. Representatives from all parts of the colony will be present at the Synod, and the Waiapu diocese, of which Hawke’s Bay forms a portion, will represented as follows:—The Bishop of Waijipu, Dean Hovell, Archdeacons Leonard and Samuel Williams, and Messrs T. Tanner, A.J. Cotterill, T. Morrison, and H, G. Gill. Several of the Hawke’s Bay representatives will leave for Wellington during next week.

An absurd rumour has been set afloat to the effect that the petition lately signed for the retention of Sergeant M Ardle at Waipawa was Dromoted for political purposes. Sergeant McArdle, as is w 11 known, has always kept clear of politics. Those who professed to know credited him with sympathy with the Liboial Party, and it is therefore very unlikely that their opponents would get up any demonstration in his favor on political grounds. The fact is, the Liberal Party in Waipawa is approaching the stage of disintegration, the outward and visible signs of which may be observed in remarkable freedom of speech by its leading members to and of each other.

Mr Guy pointed out to the Trust Commissioner at Waipawa last Thursday that the practice of examining native alienors hud been initiated by Capt. Preece in Hawke’s Bay, during his term of office, his official predecessors having considered* it unnecessary to hold an enquiry unless after public notification, some party demanded it. Mr Guy said it was certainly a new reading of the law, and was never contemplated by the Legislature. Such a practice virtually declared that the attestations of interpreters and Justices of the Peace, already affixed to deeds, were absolutely worthless. Mr Kelly, interpreter to the Commissioner, pointed out that it depended simply on the meaning attached to one word in the enactment authorising these enquiries.

Without in any way commenting on the merits of the deeds lately submitted to the Trust Commissioner at Waipawa, we may suggest an explanation of Nepe Te Apatu’s conduct in one respect. To an ordinary onlooker it might seem strange that Nepe should have endeavoured to induce his co-grantees to sign another deed from which neither he nor they derived any gi eater apparent benefit. It is possible that he was angry at the previous transaction having been effected without J»is consent ; but a more probable reason is that, as he said, trouble might result from want of uuity of action. If all the grantees leased their interests to one individual or firm, no partition of interests would be necessary ; whereas, if Dr von Mirbach secures the lease of two interests the owners will be put to the expense of one of those protracted Native Land Court investigations which generally eat up the value of the land.

As anticipated, no evidence was forthcoming at the inquest at Pahiatua to incriminate any person, and the jury returned the following verdict :—‘‘That the juiy are satisfied from the evidence that the deceased Peter Dickson was poisoned by arsenic, but how the poison was administered or by whom there is no evidence to show ;” adding, as a rider ; Ihe jury request the coroner to call the attention of the Minister for Justice to the article in the Woodville Examiner of January 2nd, and the article in the New Zealand Times of January 21st, dealing with the poisoning cases here in a manner prejudicial to the interests of justice.”

Our Takapau correspondent reports a serious accident to a child of four years daughter of Mr Watkins, of Ashley Clinton, which emphasises the danger of allowing young children to pl.-.y with edged tools. It appears that the child and her sister, who was two years older, got hold of a sharp axe and began playing with it. Shortly afterwards, the father, alarmed by. unusually loed cries, went out and found two of the child’s toes (the second and third) cut clean off, the fourth toe being nearly cut through. Ihe child was taken down yesterday morning to Dr. Reed, at Waipukurau, to get the wounds dressed. The child blames her sißter for the accident, but the elder girl says her sister out herself while chopping at a stick.

Our Waipukurau correspondent sends the following :—A scribbler for the Oamaru Mail appears to have launched a miserable paragraph reflecting on the eminent pianist, Mr Leon-Driver, who lately passed through Hawke’s Bay, where we know he was financially unfortunate in his choice of an advertising agent. It is much more probable that the paltry penny-a-liner who, for the value of an advertisement, would attempt to destroy a brilliant professional prospect, is a starched-up, empty-hended numbskull, than that the talented musician is an iutontional defaulter in so important a matter as his advertising bills.

Crs Bibby and Harding, appointed by the Waipawa Council to open tenders last Thursday, accepted the tender of M. Hannon for the formation of 21£ chains of Boyle a Road, at £2 5s per chain ; estimate of Overseer, £2 3s. W. Loader’s tender was accepted for supply of dog collars, snme quality and size as for last year, at s£d each. Mr Wiseman also tendered at 6d for No 2, aDd 6£d for No 3.

Addresses were delivered yesterday and to-day in the Native Land Court, Waipawa, in support of the various claims to the Rakautatahi Block. Owing to the illness of Mr Gannon, the Court adjourned till Mojday, when the addresses are expected to bj closed. The judgment in the case will be delivered about Friday, and the following week lists of narn-js will be made out.

Further subscriptions have been received towards a refund of Mr Petrovski’s costs, and the amount yet required is £1 16s, which we hope to see subscribed shortly.