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Inangahua Times, 12 January 1880, Page 2

In the Magistrate's Court on Thursday last, in the caseof Aiken v. Staite, £3 12s 6d, claim upon a dishonored cheque, judgment was giren for the amount claimed with costs. The ease of Bawson v. Victory Company, claim for £5, and £2 15s upon dishonored cheques, was adjourned, owing to an in* formality in the summons. In the case of T. Williams v. 3. Mitchel, an order was made for the payment of the claim as follows : — Half the amount within fourteen days, and the halanee within one month, in default of which two months imprisonment, Devereux t, Menteath, adjourned till the 22nd instant. The Court then adjourned. In the Warden's Court, C. B. Nelson applied for a doublesarea sluicing claim at Lankey's G-ully, which was unopposed and granted. Hugh Brennan applied for three months protection of machine site and other rights at Boat' man's, to enable him to procure machinery for the more effectual treatment of quartz tailings and pyrites. The Court then adjourned, The meeting of the Ocunty Council fixed for Wednesday last, has been adjourned till next Wednesday. A meeting of the stewards of the races is convened for this evening, at 8 o'clock sharp, to close the affairs of the late meeting. All members are particularly requested to attend. After the blistering sunshine of the preceding ten days, the slight rainfall on Saturday evening was very refreshing, and welcome to vegetation generally. We regret to say, hows eyer, that the quantity was insufficient to enable alluvial mining to be resumed, and in consequence a large number of diggers are still unable to resume work. 3?he heat regis* t?red on Wednesday and Thursday last, was the highest yet experienced in the Inangahua, and is pronounced by recently arrived Tictorians to be quite as intense as that of Melbourne during the month of December last. The challenge mile-race between W. Cochrane and H. Lines will be run off in Smith's Paddock. The contest is likely to

be a very exciting one ; a considerable sum of money being staked in bets upon the result. As far as we can learn Cochrane is most fancied for the event. The race will start at 6. 0 this evening. At a meeting of the Tender Committee of the Inangahua County Council, the tender of the proprietor of the Inangahtta Times for the supply of all printing and adveitising required by the Council for the ensuing twelve months was accepted! being the lowest. Mr John M'CJaffin mounted the rostrum for the first time on Saturday last, when he submitted to auotion a quantity of household furniture, effects, and other articles. There was a fair attendance at the Mart, and the whole of the artioles were disposed of at fair prices. Mr M'Gtoffin will offer at auction at Smith's Paddook (not at Woolley's Farm, as announced) to-morrow, eight good milch cows and calves. The failure last August of the Consolidated Bank of Montreal resembled (says the Pall Mall Budget) both in its causes and results the failure of the City of Glasgow Bank. Its affairs were shown to have been conducted with absolute recklessness. Large unsecured advances had been made to firms which were notoriously unsound. Yet the directors were known to be exemplary men of business. None of them had personally benefited by the malpractices of which they were responsible. Some of them, indeed, had but lately purchased fresh stock. Even the manager, who was accused of having systematically deceived the directors, had no apparent interest in the frauds. All thic ( however, was little comfort to the ruined shareholders. Of these about fifty ladies dressed in deep mourning, met to consider what was to be done, and the feeling of the meeting was that whether the directors were criminally reckless or recklessly criminal they should ' go to prison. * At the general meeting of shareholders, Sir Francis Hicks, the president, was for two days the object of indignant interrogation and reproach. He was, every one admitted candid and good humoured. Nevertheless, he has been prosecuted and convicted ot having signed false returns to Government. Whethether he did so wilfully or merely negligently the telegram does not enable us to say. But as a protest, we suppose, against the conviction, his friends have decided to invite him to beeone a candidate for the mayoralty of Montreal. They are following recent French precedents ; but it seems hardly desirable that the path to civic dignities should lie through the dock. According to the Express, there is a rumor abroad to the effect that the sentence inflicted on Mr Doherty is illegal. The way it arises is this ! — According to the law in England which guides this colony as well, the utmost punishment where a person is found guilty on a criminal charge of publishing a libel, well knowing it to be false, is two years ' imprisonment, or for publishing a libel as in the second count, one year's imprisonment, with* out a fine. By some mistake ' with haid labor ' was added by the Chief Justice, and the question arises whether the sentence, being faulty, binds the accused at all ; whether, in fact he can be legally detained in gaol, It is stated that the Chief Justice will raise the question in the Court of Appeal, which meets on the Bth January. We learn that however much the above story may be imperfectly told, a telegram was received at the gaol, and the result was that the hard labor has been reraitted in the case in question. As to whether a judge can inflict the addition of hard labor was referred to in a celebrated case by last mail, against the editor of Town Talk, in which the judge regretted that he could not add ' hard labor,' and this is borne out by 6 and 7 Viet., o. 96, sec. 4. In connection with the Longwood reefs the Western Star of yesterday reports as follows : —Mr Printz is busily engaged clearing and preparing the ground for a maobine site, work having in the meantime been suspended in the claim, pending the erection of machinery. Another splendid prospect was obtained from this claim on Tuesday last, when a party of gentlemen, including the proprietor of the mine and Mr Gh Proudfoot, washed a dish of quartz, which yielded 2oz of gold. Work is being actively carried on in the Geelong Fossicker that the reef will very shortly be struck. .Nothing has been done in the Murihiku since its sale by auction (on petition to the Warden by one of the shareholders for adjustment of partnership account). Mr D. Durbridge, County Engineer, inspected the track to the Longwood this week, and his opinion is that for an outlay of about £80 it could be made capable of bearing the cars tage of a battery. With regard to the pro* posed tramway, nothing definite has been done, although it may be mentioned that the route via Orepuki railway, has been favourably viewed by the county officials. A good story is said by the Lyttelton Times to be going round in certain— but not fashionable — circles: An unprepossessing individual , who has figured frequently in the Police Court in connection with some questionable oasses of gambling, usury, &0., and who by his accent and general appearance, unmistakeably hails from the land of Murphies, went into a certain hotel in this city to have a quiet little game. As he usually does upon such occasions, he put only a one -pound note in his pocket. He was soon amongst the friends he sought, with one of whom he commenced to play cards. Fortune at first favored our hero. Very ! quickly he won £20. and then the inconstant dame forsook him. He lost his winnings and his £1 note besides. He lost more, and drew a cheque for £5. His opponent, however — apparently fastidious— questioned the ap' pearance of the signaturo as not being faithful to that usually given, and a fresh cheque was drawn, this time for £10. The game went on, and our burfy hero lost in all £80, for which cheques had been given as the fun proceeded. At three o'clock bis opponent rose and declared that he would play no more, whereupon the usual row ensued, expletives and adjectives flying about in a perfectly reckless style. Our hero finally rushed off to the bank to stop bis cheques, but this little manoeuvre had beeu anticipated,

The fact of his topping hit gambling cheques was slightly notorious, and while his ops ponent ostentatiously eppeared to be stowing the cheques in his pooket, he was as a matter of fact slyly slipping them under bis leg to a confederate, by whom they were immediately taken to the bank and cashed. Hence- the reason for the punctual closing at the hour of three. Upon the discovery that his money was irretrievably lost, the row was resumed, and further adjectives. The Murphean representative concluded his amtisement by receiving a f ow very hard and uncomfortable knocks, the moral of which he is still studying. Speaking of the reoent Canterbury disturbance the Ijyttelton Times says: — In Victoria they have on Act which prevents all processions of a religious or political character. Such an Act the public opinion of New Zealand should call upon the Legislature to pass at its next meeting. Irishmen of all shades of religious opinion we hope will join in the appeal, for it is an appeal for precautionary justice which commends itself to all reasonable men. There is no excuse, as we just now observed, for the attacking party. The party attacked should remem» ber that displays of a certain kind, quite harmless in themselves, are regarded by some men in the light of irresistible provocation. The absurdity of taking offence will never he brought home to the minds that are prone to take it. The only remedy is to prevent the provocative displays. It is ludicrous to think that the raising aloft in the air of certain particular colours has the same effect on portions of mankind that the appearance of other colours has on some sections of the brute creation. But ludicrous though it be. and humiliating, it is a fact, and a fact dangerous to life and limb and the peace of society. We mu«t legislate not according to what men ought to be, but according to what they are. _ m _____ mm ___ m _ mmt _ mmtm