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Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue II, 19 May 1880, Page 2

There is a good deal of talk just now over the newly opened reefs at New Creek, Lyell, The stone i* said to be the best ever opened in either the Inangahuu 0? Lyell, while the reef has been driven along and proved to be payable beyond a shado#*of doubt for over 100 feet in length. It is fully expected that mining will take an immense spurt at the *Zyell during the coming summer. Mr 3". M'Graffin will offer the City Hotel, Broadway, at auction at 2 p.m. to-rday. The terms of purchase are exceptionally easy, and may be ascertained on reference to the ' advertisement, , An art exhibition of all ornamental, rare and valuable works of art, will be held in Dawson's Hall, on Saturday and Monday, sth and 7th of June next, in aid of the funds of the Church of England. There is no doubt that the occasion can be made a highly interesting and insteuctive one. There are no doubt scores of unique and curious relics buried away in private houses, which, if gathered together on a public occasion, such as the one in question, would afford a few hours rational entertainment. It is to be hoped then that all who oan in any way add to the collection will do so, The stopping of all communication north and south since Saturday last, and the nonarrival of the down country exchanges has reduced us to a state of literary hnnge* approaching to famine. All day yesferday the rain poured down, incessantly, and Eeefton presented the appearance of a Victorian township many years ago, when* a Hve tige» and a lion escaped from » travelling menagerie. There was to hare beea a meeting of the Provincial Directors of the I4OW Level Comt pany ,on Monday evening last, but it was ! decided to postpone the meeting until the survey of the tunnel is completed, which .will bp in two or three days time f provided that the weather clears up, ' The inhabitants of the Hampden Biding hare no reason to be dissatisfied with the attention which their district receiyes from the Inangabua County Council for considering the small amount of revenue annually raised there a large number of important public works- have been carried out. It will be noticed that tenders are elsewhere invited for the coostruction of three and a«half miles of dray road from Oxnam's to the 'Matiri river, and also for the formation of thirteen miles of pack -track up the Matakitaki river from Hampden to May's Flat. The tenders close on the 2nd Jane. Messrs Anderson and Green haye com* -pletei the traverse of the track between 'Reefton and the Bfg Biver, and upon the County Engineer going over the line aud adopting it, tendeis.will probably be invited for the work. The entire distance 'is about twelve miles, while the "grade will be such that at no distant date a dray road caald be formed at no very great cost. 5 The- improvements which have lately been out at Boatman's, at the in- , stsmcej oi the County Council, have added very muoh to the appearance of the town ! and the comfort and convenience of the inhabitants. The whole of the drainage from \ the. hjjll at the rear ot the town formerly flowed? in upon the bouses, anrl gave rise to all kinds of unhealthy odou 1 s. This has been got rid o f by the construction of a ditch to carry off the drainage, and the track side streets have been formed and gravelled i giving the place a very clean appearance. Boatman's can now boast several hotel j affmHng accommodation to travellers, such as cannot be surpassed by any hotel on the West Coast. Mr Archer has completed tbe erection of a handsome two- story hotel, such as baS no superior in Eeefton. Tbe accommodation is large, and the general appointments aro faultless. His general store* keeping- business is carried on under the ' sanie roof, the space f>r which is very conveniently arranged. At ihe. rear there is • comfortable stab'e accommodation. Mr D Ferrisf general store is a large and well« , stocked building adjoining Mr i.rcuers, and has uiso a "very com Stable appearanc. At ; MessTg Gallagher Bros, branch, store further down the efr^et, the work of enlargement 's aow going on, and when completed, the premises will be second to none in the Inangahna. Mr F. D. Walker has recently made considerable additions to his premises — the Union Hotel, and now besides a large and comtortaMe billiard room possesses a spac'm s hall, woU suited for concerts, leotn.rs-i, and public entertainments. The prnw.iijes. which are two stories high, on the whaleiare very corn r ortably arranged, afford I'.rg'.i aecomrcodition, and capable of carry^ ing on a most extensive busine^, Boxborough/a KoteJ, j$ situate ucx*i to th.9.

Umoq IJotol, acd some distance further down fie" strpej is Mr Roger's Hotel, both commanding building.". There are many other shops and bmldingi intervening, tbe whole gong to make up » yery neat and compact, township, but unfortunately the amount of business to be done at the present t.me is not quite in keeping with the size and number of the buildings, bufr as everybody looks forwa'd confidently to the coming spring to bring about the long expected revival \n wining there, it may turn that the inhabitants have east their bread easily upon j the watfrsra^d «h^ijjwiltre^*a/tothemrin'j t&any wAya-Wadpe s^e fully ihwr4 in, -,; ' : . It is somewhere recorded— in last session's -Hansard, itwe mistake not— Jhafc " when tke^ Devil was ill, the Devil a monk would be," and so it comes to pass that the Lj ttelton Times has suddenly become virtuous. When the Grey Government were in power it was •the habit of some newspapers [Was not our contemporary among tbe number r"] to send day by day accredited representatives to the Antechamber? of Mjnjstersfor j information." This information Wai really instruction what to write,' Being now in the cold B'iade of Opposition, the Lyttelton Times says :— • We absolutely condemn this practice as degradieg to the Press and iatal to its usefulness. It is degrading, because it is discreditable that representatives of the Press should become the chiffoniers of the public offices. It is fatal |p the usefulness of independence, {'(The public wants, and properly wants, newspapers which express their own conscientious views, and which are not a week mixture of Government and water. It is perfectly nauseating to baye tbe tap of journalistic flattery turned on a Ministry because a little man of the Press has had an interview wilh a great man of the Government. If a Ministry wishes to have its cause advocated, it h«s many legitimate ways of enabling a journal favourable td its policy to take that course. It is quite unnecesaary that any newspaper should be merely the lackey or the parasite of the Government of the day. We regard with contempt every article whioh founds a wishywashy effusion of praise on revelations alleged to be made to it of irhat fibs fU^e ifSe Cabinet." The Wellington Post is responsible for the following, — A tobacconist, whose establishment i* not a hundred miles from this office, met with a curious but disagreeable experience some weeks ago. One day a shabby^looking customer, «feppfl»entjy "a -bushjnaß,|carae into his shop* %nd^eaid Ke wanted tofbuy alpipe. j <• W hat kind of a one do you want V asked the proprietor. " Oh, the best you've got," j was the reply. Pointing to some very large I handsomely carved meergcbaums in a case on the counter, the. tradesman said they .were the most 1 expensiVeVliey nadVthey were 6()s each. "AH right, that one'll do," was the jnunty rejoiner. The tobacconist hesitated, thinking his customer did not look much like a man willing to pay £3 for a pipe, but he was told to "hurry up," a^d'accorctirigly^he took out the pip© referred to and filled it with his best cut tobacco. The seedy-looking purchaser took it, and was about to strike a match to light it, when Mr— suggested it would^je, af^welljf he pajd for^it before lighting 'ife '•« (Jh'l thWs all iighV 'rejoined the man, * f here you are, ana at the same time produced from his pocket a bundle of notes, j three of which he threw on tbe counter. After taking a few pt*ffs, it was found that the amber was loose, and the purchaser said he should] flikfjt§b hfifeja s^iwergerule pu^pn it, and his initials engraved. He asked how much this would cost, and being told 22s 6d, he paid the money, and, leaving the pipe in the shop, went away, saying he would come back and get it when it was finished. The tobacconist has never seen the man from that T day to this. He has no objection to selling a pipe on the same terms every day. Our sporting readers will be interested to learn that Robert Dagg, holder of the Caledonian Society's Champion Belt, has decided noli to accept tKef chalTenges giveaj" h^'ty Edward Blackburn': JEe ? therefore 1 forfeits the Belt to his challenger. Blackburn, though only about 5t Gin, in height, is a wrestler of some mark, having been victorious ra the II stone oontest in the Carlisle 'Hing. — Dunedin Herald The Thames Advertiser says : — " In a field off Sealey-ptreet a curious sight is to be seen. A few days ago a fine crop of maize was growing in tbe paddock, but now hardly a particle of it is to be seen, an enormoue colony of caterpillars having eaten it up in a day or two. During the time these voracious insects were demolishing the crop, the field appeared to be alive with them, and at night time the peculiar sound made by them in eaMng could be heard distinctly by persons passing along the ; B|reefc,' f ; ./^ ',- ff « The ftzf Herall Tias^bJ Mowing Thursday, two Chinamen honored a British Magistrate so far as to request him to arbi'rate on a matter in dispute. Thomaß Quoy, an intelligent young Mongolian, who speaks very good English, consented to act as inter-, preter, and was sworn upon the Bible, One of the learned counsel engaged in the case, took exception to this proceeding on the ground that there was n& proof that Quoy was a believer in Christianity. His Worship put the quietus on that objection by pointing out that the interpreter rejoiced in the Christian name of Thomas. The man-of-law, However, proclaimed himself still as great doubter as Thomas Didymus. He said that if he sworg wrong, all sorts of evil would befall him. 'But in this world, or the next ?'— inquired the Magistrate. «Tn this world : : I known of no other,' answered the Chinaman. The countenance ot the irrepressible objecting, lawyer, brightened up 1 ifewas evident be* was sure lie bad f cored $ point. Mr Laishley ca-Jied the day by remarking be was convinced that if tv same question were put to half the educated men in Engkndj i>o satisfactory answer would be^ obtained • that they would not admit their belief in a huge furnace of fire and brimstone awaiting tbe arrival of every .-hum^n.. being ., when he shuffled off this mortal coil.' Finally, the Qerviees of Mr Thomas Quoy were t.haak« fully apceptejd by all parti-as concerned, 1 j