Our Bunnythorpe Letter.

Manawatu Standard, 2 March 1889, Page 2

Our Bunnythorpe Letter.

(From our Own Correspondent.) Bunnythorpe, for the last three or four days, looks more like Pompeii of old than anything else. The smoke is something fearful. The strong winds are carrying the ashes in showers all over the district, greatly to the annoyance of my housekeeper, who complains bitterly to me that she couldn't effect a clean washing. If your ex correspondent who is, I am sorry to say, no Washington has a bad conscie ce, there is a chance for him to do penance ; ashes are plentiful and sackcloth is very cheap. The barns effected during the present week are chiefly satisfactory ; some are indeed very good. Mr Holland, our local sawmiller, has a busy time of it just now ; he has received several orders lately for houses to be built on the new burns along the Bunnythorpe-Ashurst road. Mr Holland was also fortunate enough to secure a sleeper contract for the Ashurst-Pal-merston railway. With the execption of Timothy, the harvest operations are almost completed. An exciting race took place here the other day between the fishman and the butcher. The fishman, after having sold out all his fish but one, saw from afar off the red cart of the butcher coming along at the rate of twelve miles an hour, the nearest house being about half a mile distant ; and as his horse had no long pedigree, it was amusing to see the fishman, with his last fish in one hand and the reins in the other, hammering away at the pony and shouting from the top of his voice, fish-ho. However everything is well that ends well — the fishman gained the day ; he sold his last fish before the butcher came near enough to interfere. The poll for No. 5 Ward takes place on Monday next at Messrs Bailey's sawmill, Taonui. It is to be hoped that every ratepayer in the Ward records his vote in favour of the proposal, so that at last we may get our much-needed roads constructed. Twelve years in the mud in quite long enough to my mind. Bunnythorpe is still on the increase. Mr B. Tremewan, of Ashurst, is the latest arrival, and more will follow.

Private [illegible] state that in [illegible] ships being [illegible] Twelfth New J[illegible] held in readiness [illegible] besides the Ninth [illegible] Twenty-fourth Infantry, with chaplains. The Cavalry, who take their horses with them, will be armed with long rifles, instead of the usual short rifles. Melbourne, February 27. The Revs. Doctors Lind, (of Belfast), Macgregor, (of Edinburg), and Fraser (of London), will attend the forthcoming Presbyterian Jubilee in this city. Four young men, named Batly, Wren, Meredith, and Minogue were sentenced to death for a criminal assault on a woman at Studley Park, on the outskirts of that city. March 1. Cohen and Scott, the two land brokers who were arrested on a charge of selling more land than they owned, were tried to-day and were aaquitted. Hewitt, the clerk of the Commercial Bank, who was arrested for committing a fraud on the Bank, has been sentenced to three months imprisonment ; and Farrar, a stockjobber, who was also implicated, received a sentence of two years' imprisonment.