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Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 68, 5 June 1878, Page 2

An accident attended with fatal consequences, bat fortunately only to the equine rather than the human race, occurred on Saturday night. Ab the train from Foxton had reached the Terrace End of the town, a shock was felt, as if the engine had met with some opposition. Fully one hundred yards were traversed before steam was shut off and the train brought to a stand-still, when it was discovered that the mutilated remains of a horse were entangled with the wheels of the engine, while a second animal had g. t entangled with the machinery, and had been dragged along for about a hundred yards. Upon the stoppage of the train the poor beast managed to wrest itself, free and staggering clear of the track, fell to the ground. As its entrails were ' protruding, and it had evidently received injuries which left its recovery beyond hope, the owner, Mr Mackie, butcher, shortly afterwards put it out of its misery by cutting its throat. The other animal was horribly multilated, and with the force of the concussion not only did the beast come to grief,' but a portion of the iron work of the engine was wrenched away. After considerable difficulty the remains were removed from -the wheels and other portions of the engine, and as Rogers, the driver, after inspecting the damage, deoln red that the breakage of the machinery was of no importance, the train proceeded on its way, As we have said one of the animals belonged to Mr Mackie, who had but a few minutes previously turned them adrift, and they were on their way to the paddock for the night when the accident occurred. The other horse belonged to the Wesleyan clergyman, but on acoount of his vicious temper had. been handed over to Mr Mackie to be run in his cart, with the object of taming his high blood. Whether it was a judgment . upon the animal for his .unruly. ponduct,. or .the degradation was too mucli for his high spirit, and he sought death as a relief;, from his punishmentVitis hard to say ; in any case, he appears to have been the means of luring another offending animal to an intiraely fate. Seriously speaking, however; we think it should be incnmbent upon the driver to keep continuously ringing the bell from the time the train arrives at one town boundary until the station is reached, and vice versa. The place where the accident occurred was a street crossing, and the blessing is that, as might have been the case, no human life was sacrificed. The elections for two Councillors to fill the vacancy in the Borough Council, caused by the resignations, of Councillors Gilbert and Summerhays, took place yesterday. In accordance with the new Act, the candidates were - nominated by nomination papers, lodged with the returning officer, instead of as hitherto by. public proposition. There •were three candidates for the honor t Sylvester Coleman; nominated by electors Snelspn and Roe ; Alexander Fergusson; nominated by electors Lihton and Jenssen; and Solomon Abrahams, nominated by eleotors Linton and Hoe. Evidently very little interest was taken in the proceedings, from the fact that there' were but eighty votes polled, three of which were informal, while but forty-seven electors, out of the three hundred on the roll, took the trouble of voting. Of course, however, a great many would be away from town, and consequently would not be aware or in a position to lodge their votes. The result or the poll was: Coleman, 56; Fergusson, 55 j Abrahams, 22. The two first, therefore, are the new Councillors. A scratch match at Football was played at Feilding on Saturday, when eomeexcct

lent play was shown. The sides were chosen by Messrs. H. L. S her will and K. S. Paul, the gome resulting in a victory for the former by one goal and three tries to one try. On the winning side Messrs. Sherwill, E. Jackson, Leithbridge, and Edge were particulary conspicuous — Messrs. Paul, Holmes, and Knevitt did most of the work on the other side. After the game, a meeting was held at Roe's Hotel, and a club formed, A. F. Halcombe, Esq., being unanimously elected President ; Mr Paul, Captain ;Mr Edge, Secretary ; and Messrs. Leithbridge, E. Jackson, {and Powell were chosen with the above gentlemen to act as the committee of management. The colors of the Club are Blue and White. A match with Sandon is being arranged, and the Club intend challenging Palmerston and Bulls. We have been shown two splendid specimens of Colonial tobacco, grown by Mr Parker, of Rangitikei line, from American - seed. Mr Parker, tried three different kinds of seed, Connecticut, Kentucky and Havana, and finds the first by far the best cropper. Some time since he forwarded a specimen to Mr Williston, of Wellington, who highly approved of the sample, and offered to take as much as he could furnish at £120 per ton. As each acre will raise a ton, and allowing a reduction of one quarter for drying and sweating, he is of opinion that it will pay better than any other produce,, and consequently intends going largely into the industry. The two specimens in their dried state are at our "office, where the curious may inspect them. The leaves are over two feet in length, but Mr Parker informs us that some grown by him have been as long as thirty-one inches by seventeen, and that he has been selling it in its present unpressed state at Is 6d per lb. Owners of horses had better be careful as to the manner in which they leave them, unless some friendly eye is doing duty for them during their absence. During the past week Mr Knight, of the Rangitikeiroad, had business in a house in Palmerston, and upon dismounting he tied his horse up to the fence. Upon seeking the beast he found he had disappeared, and with him a dog which always travelled with him.. As the horse was a very old one, and would find his way home from twenty miles dis r tance, Mr Knight started on foot in that direction, and was surprised to learn on reaching there that the animal had not arrived. Next day he sought the assistance of the Police asking the Constable to make it known that he would give a pound for the recovery of the animal. Constable Gillespie thinking the ■. circumstances suspicious—particularly as the dog had returned in a couple of days — scoured the bush round, and eventually reported the horse as stolen. On Monday a Maori, named Teira, called upon the Constable and asked him if the Pakeha would give a pound for the recovery of the horse. On being answered in tbe affirmative he departed, and quickly returned with the missing horse which he alleged he had found wandering in the bush at Hokowitu. As the animal had not the least sign of sand upon him, nor had the bridle been trodden upon, as would have been the case had he wandered away and dragged it after him, there are very grave suspicious that the animal had been planted. It may be as well to state that Teira was told to call again for the reward, but evidently " smelling a rat," has since then kept out of the Constable's sight. We have received from the publishers, Messrs. Edmonson and Averv, the prospectus of " The History of Taranaki," which has just been published by that firm. The work commences with the earliest Maoritraditions, long anterior to the discovery of New Zealand, and treats of the stirring events which has marked the history of that Province down to the present time. We baye been only favored with a synopsis of of its contents, but judging from thence we should say it would prove a work of considerable interest, to settlers on the West Coast. It is written by Mr B. Wells, and may be looked upon as a standard of reference on the matters upon which it treats. Mr Joseph Ives, whose name is identified with the starting of newspapers in every conceivable and inconceivable quarter of ,the Colony, passed through the district last week, on his route to Wanganui, we believe to negotiate for the disposal of the " Ashburton Mail," one of his Canterbury ventures. The celebrated King of Phrygia had the power given him . of turning whatever he touched into gold, and it: is said of Mr Ives that upon whatever soil he treads, from thence a newspaper blossoms into existence. As this West Coast appears to be somewhat prolific in the commodity, it is just possible he may find that on this occasion he is " crowded out." To add to the long catalogue of changes which have lately taken place in Palmerston, Mr. Charles Waldegrave has disposed of his interest in his butchery establishment, the purchaser being Mr. Beal, a brother-in-law of Mr. Owen. While on the subject of sales, we might mention that Mr. Palmersen has disposed of- several sections to Mr. Madden, a Wellington capitalist, who paid the town a flying visit during the week. One lot was a section facing the Square, wluch, although scarcely quarter, of an acre, fetched close upon £250. Another section which had been recently purchased, a.gain changed hands »t an advance of one hundred and twenty per cent, profit on the out-, lay. Dr. Hewson, Coroner for the OtaM District, held an inquest on the 2nd instant on the body of William Prouse, who was drowned oh the 30th ult., in attempting to ■ ford i the: Otaki, River. According iq the evidence adduced deceased; 'who 'wasafarmer at the Hutt River, was on his return journey from Patea. The prevailing opinion is that in its eagerness to drink, the horse precipitated itself and its rider into the stream, and that the animal kicked the unfortunate man in the head, rendering him powerless to save himself. Our Feilding readers will be pleased to learn that there is now no fear that the erection of the sentry-box which was designed to do duty as a court, will be proceeded with. Yielding . to the pressure brought to bear upon it, the Public Works Department has withdrawn the objectionable plans, and others more in keeping with the requirements of the place are in preparation. We notice that the General Manager of the railway, line has taken the hint conveyed in the sub-leader in last issue, and has altered his instructions to station masters .with' regard to the issue of the tickets. The j notice, now posted up is to the effect " that no tickets will be issued after the arrival of the train at the platform." A meeting of the Fire Brigade was held last evening, at which it was resolved that, in consequence of the action the insurance companies, the Brigade be disbanded. It was also decided that the £10 forwarded by the National Company should be expended in 'defraying all liabilities, after which the residue was to be handed back to the sub* scribers. We notice that Caney and Co., photographers, who were resident here some tiaa ■ ago, have taken up their old quarters in th!* Square, where they are prepared to execut-v portraits for the miHioH.

We understand that if r. Lash, of Halcombe, who has taken over the mill formerly in the possession of Messrs. Manso'n and Bartholomew, commenced operations on Monday. Mr. Lash has just signed a contract for the supply of heart of totara sleepers, which will keep him busy for the next nine months. Meetings of the settlers of Sandon and Foxton are to be held to-night and to-mor-row night, at which the Hons. Robert Campbell and William Fox- are to be present. The object of both gatherings is to learn from the above gentlemen the details of the pro--posed Foxton-Sandon Railway. We" have been favored with several com munications on various subjects, but they are unavoidably crowded out. How to meet thb WiNTEB. After the debilitating heat of sumnfer the constitution is ill fitted to encounter the sudden climatic changes of winter. The interval between the two seasons is the time to brace up the system to encounter the variations of temperature to which it will be subjected. Taken three or four times a day during the autumn and at the beginging of winter, Udoipho Womb's Schiedam Abomatio Schnapps fortifies the system ""against coughs, colds, rheumatism, and other complaints incident to the latter season.— Advt.