The Westport Times AND CHARLESTON ARGUS. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1868.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 385, 24 October 1868, Page 4

The Westport Times AND CHARLESTON ARGUS. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1868.

After, a prolonged stormy time, after floods and earthquakes, and every kind ofatmospheric disturbance, tke weather at last appears likely to settle, and summer to set in. Not very long ago we were congratlated on the fact of there having been no real summer last year, as otherwise diseases of various kinds, must of necessity have carried off a harvest of victims, consequent on the undrained and filthy condition of parts of the town. The source from which the warning came was one that cannot be disregarded, and our own senses can readily corroborate the probability of its correctness. A large number of people in this town, live in what are nothing more or less than fever-beds, and, with the hot weather, we may just as certainly look forward to a crop of this kind, as the husbandman to the ripening of his corn. The swamps on which people reside, dirty and disgusting back yards in places where swamp does not exist, pig-keeping and its attendant filth, in the verv centre of a large number of houses crowded together, are as it were, inducements to illness, and yet people are contented to let matters alone, and make no efforts to alter them. The police however willing to do all in their power, have little ability to do so, unless set in motion by a complaint duly lodged by some one whose patience has been tired out, and the consequence may be, an epidemic will break out, that will sweep off a number of people during the next few months. As we stand at present, there is no remedy for this condition of affairs. The Progress Committee certainly, can perhaps do a little in spurring up the authorities to exercise the greatest vigilance in the abatement of nuisances, but they have no power to make by-laws that cau be binding on the inhabitants, and the pig keeper can poison his neighbors with perfect impunity, as far as their authority goes. They might possibly, under happier circumstances than a bankrupt provincial exchequer presents, have interested themselves to obtain the cutting of a few drains and the clearing of some streets, but till some further provision is made, their efforts in this respect must be futile. In the meanwhile "Westport remains in the very unenviable position of being the most unhealthy town on the Coast, and what is worse, there does not seem to be any great prospect of it emerging into a clearer sanitary atmosphere. Now, though a Progress Committee possesses no legal status or power, a Municipal Council does, and if such were established in the town, the best results in a dozen or two different ways might be expected to flow from it. In reference to the above causes of disease or death it would have complete and full authority to remove them. It could compel offenders against cleanliness to remove all grounds of complaint, and being ex officio the local board of health, could framenecessary by-laws to protect their constituents from dangers of this kind. Their duty would be to form streets and render swamps habitable by proper drainage, and thus two great causes of mortality would be at once and for ever removed. Besides these/ there are numberless occasions where a body, armed with authority that there could be no gainsaying, could render good service to the public. As a matter of course, all local public works would be conducted under the Council's supervision; the wharves would be under its control, and the income from that source would form a considerable item in the Municipal revenues. As was stated at the meeting when a Proguess Committee was elected, since the abolition of the Commissionership, and the consequent distribution of power amongst half-a dozen heads of departments, it is high time that this town had some local recognised self-government, and in this

opinion pretty well everyone that has any stake here shares. As has been frequently stated, it is a work of time to gain a municipality, for after the petition has been prepared, signed, and forwarded to the Colonial Secretary, two months must elapse before the prayer can be legally granted, and other preliminaries will occupy another month at least. On all haudd the desirability of the introduction of municipal institutions is admitted, why then should there be any delay in taking the necessary steps ? At the time when the Progress Committee I were elected, it was understood that they were only to be the forerunners of a municipality, and though not expressed, it was to a certain extent understood, that they were to take such action as would bring the latter into existence as soon as time would allow. They have been in office some little time now, and have held several meetings, but up to the present time nothing has been done to this end. The process is very simple. All that is needed is to draw out a petition, in the form provided by the Act, and procure the signatures of one hundred householders, more if possible, but that is the minimum number. The petition so signed, has then to be forwarded to the Colonial Secretary, and it will be there two months, after which, if there is no opposition, the prayer is granted as a matter of course. If any persons think themselves aggrieved by the possibility of a municipality, they can during that two months, forward a counter petition, but the signatures must be those of bona fide householders liable to be rated, and the number must exceed those petitioning in favor of the municipality. That any opposition would be offered in our case, there is little fear, and if it was, it would be of such a nature as not to be worth considering for a moment. Let us then wake up on this subject, obtain the signatures, forward the petition, and go to work in earnest, instead of for ever talking about it. If the Progress Committee are the means, individually, or collectively, of achieving this, they will earn the hearty thanks of the "Westport public.

A man, pretty well known in the , town as a hawker of vegetables, &c, has \ been missing ever since the night of - the flood. His appearance is such that i he could easily be recognised by any ; one who had once seen him, being very i tall and thin, with grey hair and mous- • tache, and about fifty-five years of age. s The name he usually gave was Greorge :' Brown, but such is not his real name, as he is a Pole. The police have been making enquiries, but no trace of the i missing mau has been discovered. He was last seen, in a state of intoxication, hanging about Tibby's Hotel, on the night of Mr Mnrey's ball, aud the conjecture about his having fallen into the river and so swept away by the fresh is only too probable. The Wanganui Chronicle states that the recent earthquake which occurred there at ten minutes after midnight, was the severest shock experienced within the last fourteen years. The first heavy shock is said to have lasted two minutes, and was followed by others of a slighter character, at intervals, up to four o'clock in the morning. Beyond the falling of a few chimneys and the breakage of glass the damage done was trifling in comparison to what was expected. The "Wanganui papers inform us of the arrival thereof Colonel Whitmore, as officer commanding. An extra published by the Chronicle on Wednesday, also informs us of another murder having been committed by the Hauhans the victim in this case being a mau named Collins, a brother of a settler in this Province. It appears that —" Collins, in company with a Patea settler, —Mr J. Southby—were journeying overland from Wairoa to Patea, when they fell into an ambuscade of rebels midway between Wairoa and "VVhenuakura. The two endeavoured to turn their horses and riding for their lives. Southby was fortunate enough to succeed in this, but his companion's horse got restive, and the sad result was that he fell into the hands of the enemy and was cut down by their tomahawks. Southby, on reaching the Wairoa redoubt reported the circumstances, and Captain Hawes and a few men went to Patea by a different route next day, and having obtained an escort, they returned by the particular track taken by Southby and his companion. They discovered the body of poor Collins in a sadly mutilated state. The head was cut off and stuck on a pole; the limbs were also severed from the body and the latter mangled terribly. Captain Hawes gathered up the remains and gave them burial." The fact of this murder is confirmed by a telegram which we received yesterday afternoon, from our correspondent at Wellington.

There are two specimens of the mocking bird now in England. They are to be seen in the aviary at the Crystal Palace, near the crystal fountain. They are in full sons;, and warble the notes of the thrush, blackbird, nightingale, mock the railway whistle, the sawing of wood, and whistle some English songs. Though the fall in the price of wool doesuotaftectWestland,atleastdirectly, itwillenia'l considerable loss on the older settled portions of the Province, and on the colony in general. In a long article on the subject which appears in the Colonist, the tall in price during the last four years is roundly estimated at from 35 to 40 per-cent, or about 6d., per lb. "When it is stated that a reduction of a penny per pound in wool means a loss to NewZealand of something like £120,000 a-yeai*, some idea may be formed of the large amount of money which the colony has thus lost in hard cash. We saw it stated in a Wellington paper the other day that the recent advices from home of the last fall caused quite a panic amongst fliembers of the Legislature, who are chiefly squatters, one gentleman's loss being set down at £3OOO and that of others at larger and smaller amounts.