THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18,1877.

Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 4, 18 April 1877, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 1877.

There will be a sitting of the Courts tbi morning at the usual hour, but .he only case | of any importance get down for hearing is (.foal of Campbell and Taylor v. M'Guigan. Rev Father Cummins writes announcing bis safe arrival in London. At the date of his letter (lQtb Feb.) (he re? gentleman wa* about to proceed to France, where he w>l'I remain until August nex|. Information reached town yesterd ay of a great improvement in the appearance of the Welcome mine, Boatman's. The reef is widening out considerably, and the show of go)d greatly improving. A s|ip of earth is reported to have occurred on the Boatman's track near the Just*in-Time machine, and yesterday arrangements were made by the Chairman of the Koad Board for clearing away the obstruction. At the meeting of the Road Board held on Monday last the tender of the proprietor of the 7*iKQABtrA TftfKf, for all printing and advertising required by the Board, was extended until the dissolution of the Board. A meeting of the Hospital Committee was held at My M'Lean's office on Monday evening, but the only business transacted was the appointment of a sub-committee to arrange for the supply of drugs to the Hospital. A number of accounts were passed for pay ment. A rehearsal of the amateurs will be held in Dawson's Hall this evening. Lady amateurs are requested to be in attendance at 8 o'clock sharp. We bare been requested to state ttat no strangers will be admitted to the hall during rehearsals. A challenge has been received front the Cruihington cricketers by the local team to play a return match on Saturday next, on the ground, Smith's paddock. The challenge has been accepted, and a meeting oi the local club will be helcPSlt Sawson's Hotel this evening to appoint a match committee and Arrange other detail? of the match. There is a probability of the long eufifering ratepayers in Bridge street and Upper Broadway having something done to facilitate traffic iq that quarter. In response to a. memorial on the subject) presented to the Jtoad Board on Monday last, it was decided to prepare specifications and estimates of the cost of the Work. Some discussion was occasioned at the Road Board meeting on Monday last upon a charge of tome £50 submitted for travelling expenses incurred by the County Engineer and Secretary in going over the County roads. It was urged that the amount was in lage part fairly chargeable against the County funds, and it was eventually decided to bill the County Council for that amount. It is reported that an attempt is being made, or about to be made, with the consent of one member, pf the Inangahua County Council, to cause a divergence of the route of •she 0/cy road, so as to cut off the present settlers at the Grey junction. In the ab- | senco of more positive information on the I subject we withhold the name of the Ooun« cillor referred to, but we may, we think, go ao fay hi to say, that the movement is not likely to be countenanced in any way by the Council as a body. Intimation of the movement naT* ing reached some of the farmers residing at the Grey Junction and Totara, inquiries have been forwarded to Beefton upon the subject, and hence our reasons for again referring to the matter. The following quantity of gold was for* warded to dreymouth on the 14ih inst by the Bank of New Zealand ;—

5273 19 0 Adverting to a paragraph wbich appeared in the Merald on Saturday last, in reference to the worts contemplated by the Indepen- • deut Company, we have been requested to correct a misstatement contained therein. It i» said [in the paragraph in question that " it is estimated tbat tho woek of driving the low level tunnel will occupy 20 months, and cost £2000." The work in question is expected to be completed in less than 10 months, and the cost will not exceed £1100. In lome f figures relating to the gold recently escorted j by the Bank of New Zealand it was erroneously stated in yesterday's issue of the , same paper tbat the Wealth of Nations Company contributed only 1208oz 5 dwe to the , total, whereat the quantity should have been 129*0Z 6dwt

We notice that another miuing venture at Larry's Creek— the Larry's Creek Companyis about to embrace the voluntary winding- up provisions of " The Mining Companies Act," a general treating being called to consider the advisability of closing operations. It has been decided to offer the company's plant for oale by tender. The company has been a long time in operation, and have expended a considerable sum in fruitless prospecting work. The action of the company appears to be a very prudent one. Portions of the Black's Point track are in a wretchedly sloppy condition at the present time, and locomotion in that direction is in consequence rendered particularly disagree* able. The contractor is at work upon the line and seemingly doing what he can to repair the wont portions, but in view of the large amount of traffic now passing and repassing in that direction it is absolutely imperative that the track should be repaii ed throughout as early as possible. For the first few chains of the track after leaving Reeftou the mud is almost ankle deep, and from the nature of the material thrown upon it is likely to get still worse as the wet season ad« vfinees. We are not disposed to cast all the blame of this upon the contractor, as the track has been cut up a good deal by persons hauling logs over it. The work is however of sufficient importance to demand reference to it, and it is to be hoped that no time will be lpst ia making it passable. Jfc is to be hoped that the convenience of the public will now be properly served at the Fern Flat ferry, as some £9 10s is the amount irhieb the Boad Hoard bas had to pr,y for the ferryman's " whistle "-or, rather, bell. Now, however, that the bt.l is erected, it >.s to be hoped that no evil disposed person will confirm the Road Board's estimate of public morality by stealing it. The ferryman's idea of contemporary respect for the BUth commandment cannot rank very high, as a correspondent informs us that the bell has been erected at the top of a long pole. Ibis leads us to anticipate the probability, at some future time, of an application being made to the Board for a lightning rod to protect it. At any rate we regard the one as about as necesiary m the other, and therefore recommend the matter to the serious attention of the Board. We are inclined to think that the County Council will find that its '.bantling the Local Revenues Board will prove a rather expensive appenage by the time the dissolution of the latter is brought about. It will be seen by our report of the Boad Board proceedings that I accounts amounting in the aggregate to some £760 were passed for payment by the Board, aid this in the face of the existence of a lank . overdraft of £85, It was stated at the meeting that the Board had no funds to discharge the liability, but the Manager of the Bank of New Zealand had agreed to honor the Board's cheques for the sum, provided that payment of the amount was first endorsed by the County Council. Consequently the Board's accounts will have to pass in review before the Council at its next meeting. Assuming that the Council accepts the responsibility, and that the accounts will be paid out of the subsidy of £900 just receive by the Council from the Government, the whole of the latter sum will he absorbed. It was statecj at the Board meeting that it will take three months yet to effect the mergiug of the Board in the County Council. The danger of public sweepstakes are known to be numerous, and possibly some people who manifest *° muca eagerness to invest in them do so with an insufficient knowledge of the risks they insur. A case has just occurred at Hokitilsa which in some way illustrates our remarks, After the drawing of the tickets the committee appointed to superintend were requested by the proprietor not to advertise the list of winning numbers, aa many tickets had not heen returned from the country. They compHed with tb,e seemingly reasonable request, hut to their suprise on the fallowing morning a list of numbers was advertised, in which the numbers of the winning tickets were falsified in the following manner : When a number of say fl2 drew a prize it was manipulated to read 163, and so on, by the addition of an extra numeral the majority of the winning numbers were transposed. The Committee, however, appear to have been sufficiently alive, far in the fol* lowing issue of the West Coast Times they publish a better exposing the whole fraud, Perhaps this will induce people to, he A little le» enthusiastic on the subject of sweepstakes, for it cannot be denied that these sweepstakes, whether in relation to jewellery or horse-racing, are becoming a most intolerable nuisance, and the time is at hand when they roust be suppressed, The Otag^ Guardian of the aiflt ult. gives a full report of the proceedings in the Waimate Police Court in the prosecution of R. A. A. Sherrin for writing and publishing a libel against Mr G. M. Reed, of tbat journal. As was previously learned by telegram, Sherrin was committed for trial, and failing to find bail, was sent to prison. The report of the case shows that the libel, which was pubin the Waitangi Tribune, was one of the most false, abominable, and atrocious productions which ever appeared in New Zealand. It charged Mr Raed with hating heen guilty of immoral conduct, an J alluded to him as being an " Unfrocked clergyman," <M* He*d had I the opportunity of specifically dferijlng 6ft > oath every one of the slanderous assertion! 1 made. Mr Reed's many friends in New > Zealand, who know his high character, alike t as a journalist and a private gentleman, will t sympathise with him in having been made 3 the object of so vile and wicked an attack. It 1 i« perfectly well known that Mr Reed was a - minister of the Presbyterian Church in i Queensland, and is at present a minister of b the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. 1 He retired from the ministry in Queensland • for the purpose of entering the Parliament of c Queensland. On coming to New Zealand, he • applied for admission to the Presbyterian c Church, and on presenting the usual credena tials from the Presbytery of Brisbane, was admitted. He started the Auckland Evening

Star, made it a great success, and ultimately removed to T'unedin, where he became part proprietor aad epitor of the Guardian. Those who have known Mr Seed during many f errs are, of course, aware that the charges made against bis moral character are absolutely without foundation. No defence whatever was set tip on behalf of feherrin, acd Mr Seed's evidence in chief was entirely unshaken by cross-examination. We notice that Mr Seed hps instituted a criminal prose* cation against M? Cuming, the proprietor of the Waitangi Tribune, for printing and publishing the libel. I .

Of. dwt gr. Golden Fleeoe J?66 3 0 Wealth of If ations ... 1298 5 0 Bopeftjl 1509 2 0 Caledonia 4gg 5 0 Inkerman „ 164 U 0 Italian Gully 85 4 0 • Bainy Creek 61 I 0 r AlluTiat 190 8 0