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Manawatu Times, Volume II, Issue 37, 24 February 1877, Page 2

We remind those interested of the adjourned meeting this evening at the Princess Hotel, at 8 o'clock. Mr Gr. M. Snelson's sale by auction of sections and houses -will take place at the Peoples' Auction Mart this (Saturday) afternoon. The Napier -will leave Wellington for Foxton at midnight, and will return again on Monday night after the arrival of the evening train from Feilding and Palmerston. Mr Bryce calls for tenders m our present issue for felling 200 acres of light bush, north of Feilding, m four contracts of 50 acres. Specifications can be seen at Mr Maysmor's store, Feilding. Hugh and Julia McG-onigal, husband and wife, were yesterday brought before J. T. Dalrymple, Esq., J.P., charged with drunkenness. It being their first offence they were dismissed with a caution. A coroner's inquest was held at the Immigration Barracks, Feilding, on Wednesday last, the 21st inst., before Dr Rockstro and a jury of twelve, on the body of an infant. From the evidence it appears that the infant died immediately after birth. Dr Johnston, who made a post mortem examination, stated that death was the result of natural causes, and the jury returned a verdict accordingly. We are glad to notice that the Wellington Board of Education are advertising for assistant mistresses for the Foxton and Palmerston public schools. From what we have heard we feel sure that the masters of these schools are very much overworked, and they will doubtless hail with pleasure the prospect of speedy assistance thus held out. We were extremely sorry to learn of the accident which befel Mr H. McNeil whilst riding to his residence on the Rangitikei Line on Wednesday last. It appears that whilst he was attempting to light a cigar, his horse, which was rather fresh, took fright, and Mr McNeil received a somewhat severe fall on the back of his head. It was feared at first that paralysis would ensue, but we are happy to state that all alarming symptoms have now abated ; and it is confidently expected that no bad effect of a permanent nature will result from the accident. On Thursday evening last the Eev. H. Bevis delivered a lecture on " America" m the Public Hall. The Palmerston Band kindly lent their services by initiating the evening's proceedings with cheerful melody. The lecture was of a very interesting and instructive charactei', as are all the lectures which we have heard delivered by this gentleman. His views of American life were striking and life-like, as would be the views of one who had seen, and possessed the power of telling what he saw. To show the descriptive and imaginative faculty that characterises the lecture we cannot do better than quote a passage. Thus he speaks of Niagara : — " The river broad and full comes gliding down, as smooth as glass ; then, without a break rolls over a fall of many hundred feet. The central plunge, green amid its foam, is always there ; so is the roar which woke with creation ; so is the white cloud hung aloft ; so are the bridal veils of streaming cataracts on either side ; so is the mist with its rainbow fleeting and forming which rises round and from its awful beauty is but half withdrawn ; so is the snow churned river, the shining rocks and the subterranean shake." We would fain quote from the description of Canada's floral beauties and of Lake Michigan which are singularly beautiful, but the waut of space forbids. The lecture terminated at about 10 o'clock. Some little stir has been made among the working classes here and elsewhere by the letting of the contracts for metalling the Forty-Mile Bush road. Doubtless this work will be the means of employing some

of the superfluous labour m this place, for it is an undertaking of a magnitude sufficient to require the services of from fifty to one hundred workmen, and will probably extend over a period of many months. The whole distance of road to be metalled is, we believe, twenty-eight miles, which has been let out m two contracts, of which Messrs Nathan and Co. have got one and Mr Oakes the other. The " News Letter " says anent these contracts, that Mr Oakes has already advertised for fifty teams, which ought to gladden the hearts of carters who are likely to be slack on account of shearing and harvest operations being over. We are sorry to have to record the death of a young man named Charles Trim, who resided at the Terrace end of this township. Deceased had been in delicate health for some time past, having formerly suffered from an attack of low fever. For a few days previous to his decease he was engaged on the telegraph extension between Palmerston and Bunnythorpe, and the immediate cause of his death is attributed to drinking stagnant water whilst in a heated condition which produced inflammation, and carried him to an early grave. The chairman of the Waste Lands Board . for the provincial district of Wellington, at a meeting of the Board held on the 20th inst., made the following statement m reference to land sales : — ln accordance with resolutions passed at the previous meeting, he had gazetted a sale of land on deferred payments, which has since taken place. On the 13th February 48 sections m the Kiwitea Block were offered for sale on application, comprising an area of 8580 acres, at 20s per acre ; 25 sections were sold on the 13th at upset price. 14 sections were applied for on the same day by 40 applicants, and were sold at public auction on the 16th, and realised 29s 5d per acre. Five sections have since been applied for by 14 applicants, and will be sold by public auction. Four yet remain unsold. On the same day 35 sections, including an area of 9703 acres, were open for application, full cash payments at 20s per acre, of which 17 have been sold, 4486 acres, for £4511. Two of these went to auction, and an advance of Is per acre was the result, the cash received being : — For 17 sections, cash payment m full, £4511 ; deferred payments, £1511 19s 9d. Total, £6022 19s 9d. It has since been stated that but one section remains unapplied for. The " Argus " instances Mdlle. Atlantis want of success at the Theatre Royal the other evening, as illustrative of the value of advertising. That lady, says the " Argus," appeared on the boards of. the Theatre without the flaring announcements which usually herald the approach of a new or great artiste, and, as a consequence there was a miserably poor house. Perhaps this accounts for the drama of Deborah being flat and uninteresting. Whatever might have been the cause, such was the case. The whole piece dragged fearfully, and no one was sorry when the curtain fell on the last act. A number of the London " Spiritualist " has been this week distributed m and around Palraerston through the post. We know not if this precurses a spiritualistic demonstration of a more decided character but cannot but think that the encouragement for such is poor m these parts. The following which comes to hand m an exchange is apropos to the subject if not to the bias of the spiritualistic paper referred to : — Mrs. Huntoon, a sister of the Eddy Brothers, was detected whilst personating spirits at Webster, Mass. She had been invited to hold forth at the house of a person named Flint, a circle was formed, the lights were turned low, the curtain was drawn aside, a low bending figure appeared, hands were outstretched, and finally it was announced that the spirit of Mrs. Flint's mother desired to communicate with her daughter. The lady drew near the curtain, and the fluttering hand of the spirit made desultory attempts to grasp the daughter's hand. " Is this my dear mother ? " " Yes, lam your mother." Mrs. Flint seized the spirit's hands and held them. A lawyer turned on the gas, and Mrs. Huntoon was revealed struggling m the arms of the courageous lady. " Spiritualism (says the American paper from which the above was taken) is fast becoming the stupidest humbug of the country." I The following clip from an exchange will be of interest to our readers : — There are now two locomotives m course of erection at Foxton, for use on the Foxton- Palmerston line, and as soon as these are completed there will be a revolution m the conveyance of the mails between Wellington, Napier, and Wanganui. The nature of the new arrangements will be understood from the following example. The coach leaving Wellington on Monday at 6 a.m., will reach Foxton | the same evening. The mails and passengers will be conveyed by a night train to Palmerston, wher% after a rest for refreshment, they will proceed to Bulls by another coach, and next morning leaving at 6 o'clock, will be m Wanganui by 11 o'clock a.m. The journey to Napier will also be accomplished m two days ; and passengers from Napier, leaving there at 8 o'clock one morniug can be m Wanganui by 10 the next day. Wanganui passengers to Wellington will leave at 2 o'clock p.m., and be m Wellington next evening. One benefit of the new arrangement will be that the transmission of the overland mails between Wellington and New Plymouth will be reduced to three days. The arrangement about the night train was suggested to the Government by Mr Andi'ew Young, the mail contractor, and it would have been carried out some time ago bad there been sufficient locomotive power available. Mr Young deserves great ci-edit for his energy and efforts m reducing the time occupied m the conveyance of mails and passengers on the lines of road which he controls.

Visitors to the Kumara, says the " N. Z. Titties," now are invariably astonished at the progress made m the township m so short a time. There is a township there m reality, and by no toieans a small one. The place, a correspondent informs us, presents a striking and picturesque appearance. The town is V shaped, and contains some well-built and even handsome buildings, which are necessarily confined to a limited space; and scattered round, as it were, indifferent spots, are tents, inhabited by miners and others. Through the centre of the town a long road extends into the " country," and along this road at different parts are clusters of tents, or little mining camps; but the town is literally surrounded by bush, and it seems therefore to be m a deep valley. As the traveller and visitor approaches it it has been described as one of the most interesting sites it would be possible to imagine. It will be good news to many persons, says the " Post" to learn that an additional block of. land, on deferred payments, will ere long be thrown open for selection m the Wellington provincial district. At a meeting of the Waste Land Board, last Tuesday, instructions were given to the chief surveyor to undertake the survey as soon as possible, of a block of Crown land near Palmerston, m the Manawatu district, into sections of 100 and 200 acres, to be hereafter sold on deferred payments. The block is estimated to contain 8,000 acres, is easy of access, and the soil is good. The price of the sections per acre will be fixed on the completion of the survey of the block. It is very satisfactory to find that the Commissioners of the Wellington District Waste Lands Board are fully alive to the advantage and necessity of promoting the settlement of the country by offering the land for sale on deferred "payments. During the last five years, the system has been a complete success m that district, and there is no reason to doubt that it will also be so m the future. An instance of canine fidelity under peculiar circumstances was observed on the night of the fire (Sunday). A gentleman was overcome either by the fire or two much wine, and he collapsed m a gutter m Willisstreet. There he lay, not like " a warrior taking his rest," and without any cloak around him; but there was something m the situation too. It was a little terrior dog, a faithful little animal, who, having taken up a position on his master's body, there mounted guard, and would let no one approach. Two or three gentlemen passing the spot made an attempt to assist the recumbent and helpless one, but the little dog, fearing for his master's safety, flew at them directly they approached. —" Times." Mr Andrew Young, coach proprietor, and the Railway Department between them have arranged so as to shorten the time of the journey between Wellington and Taxunaki, and Wellington and Napier by a day. By the running of late trains on the Feilding and Foxton line passengers will go overland from Wellington to Napier m two days. Passengers for Wanganui will arrive there at 11 o'clock m the forenoon of the day after their departure from Wellington, and will leave the same day for Hawera, whence, after spending the night, one day will take them through, to New Plymouth. The whole matter ■ has been arranged by Mr Andrew Young, who applied to the Eailway Department for the running of late trains. An exchange says that: —Mr Angus Mackay, formely editor of the " Queenslander," and commissioner from Queensland to the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, was a passenger by the City of New York. Mr Mackay says that the Australian colonies and New Zealand have been immensely successful m winning prizes and gaining reputation at the Centennial. Business of all kinds being extremely bad m America, thousands would emigrate to the colonies. The leading prizes for wool, metals, &c, were won by the colonies. On behalf of the Government and public of Queensland, Mr Mackay has purchased a large variety of labor-saving machinery —agricultural, woolworking, farming, and many of the contrivances known as " notions." Large consignments of machinery, &c, have also been shipped from the United States and Canada for the Sydney exibition to be held m April next. The Canadian Q-overnment have sent on a shipload of goods or rather chartered a vessel to carry the goods; and have appointed a commission to attend the Exhibition on behalf of Canada. One of the members of the Commission, Mr Fleming, is a passenger on board of the City of New York. The quality of their goods is very high. Mr Mackay has succeeded m bringing thus far a large hive of Italian bees. Many attempts have been made to get tliis kind of bee to the colonies. The present effort looks as though it would be successful. The bees on the City of New York are m good health; but Mr Mackay finds they require much care on shipboard. The quantity of honey made by these bees m the United States is prodigious. Mr Mackay expresses himself as highly gratified at the assistance given him by the officers of the vessel m taking care of the bees. The Government have completed arrangements with the Bank of New Zealand for an advance to the extent of one million, which, with the half million recently borrowed m Australia, will, it is understood, enable the country to avoid having recourse to the London money market for two years to come.—" N. Z. Times." | -