Untitled

Inangahua Times, Volume II, 11 August 1880, Page 2

Two extensive rashes, one north, and the other south, are now attracting attention to the West Coast from all parts of the Colony, and the feeling is becoming general that 'the : next few years will wituegs a great revival in this portion of New Zealand. 01,4. West Coasters, who have lately visited the chief centres of the East Coast and the North Is< : landj all concur that bad and all as business is in these parts, no place presents better openings than tbe Coast. For working men there can be" no doubt as tp the superior advantage which the West Coast offers. There is abundance of alluvial ground which will yield from £1- to £3 per week, and if there be truth in the cry of distress heard from the settled districts, chanceß such as are open on these goldfields, with the possibilities of new discoveries, would be a boon to the famishing multitudes now wandering about the Eaßtern agricultural districts for that \ employment which t-wo»tbirds of them are doomed never to find. The cessation of railway and other public works throughout the Colony, as indicated in the Statement just delivered, cannot but aggravate the existing, distress, and render labor more difficult to procure. Much of the wandering population of the Colony must, therefore face the golufidds once more, and we do not exaggerate when we saj that there are no bet ter inducements of this kind- than are to be found on this side of the Middle Island. Here at all events men may, if they chose to go to to trouble, live rent-free, and fire* wood and water free, and derive; some advan- ; tages from cultivation, and all this with the chance of earning a fair, if precarious, living at mining. Whatever may be thought at the present time of these conditions of life, there can be no manner of doubt that tho time is now coming in this Colony— has iv fact actually come— when the State cannot ' permit them to remain unutilised, sUe by side with so mueli destitution. Saturday, 2lth instant, is the date fixed upoa for the concert and entertainment in ■ aid of the Hospital funds. The various societies have been written to, and have, we believe, consented, to bestow their patronage on Iho occasion. The first rehearsal of the amateurs will bo held on Friday evening next, at 7 30" o'clock, at .Dawsou's Hull, > A fall a.tendance. tendance is requested,

We regret very much to learn that there is a probability of the departure of Judge Weston, His Honor referred to the subject at a recent sitting of the District Court at Greymouth. The Grey Argus says : — His Honor Judge- Westoa having taken his scat on the Bench at the District: Court, Greymouth, on Wednesday last, wa3: congratulated by the legal profession on hi 3 safe return. His Honor having .thanked the members of the bar for their good wishes, alluded to the probability of his being removed to another district, but if such was the case, he would never forget the kindness and hospitality which he had experienced on the West Coaßt." We trust on public grounds that the announcement may prove to be premature, for there can bo no qu. stion whatever that during his Honor's administration on the West Coast, his decisions have inspired the very highest respect and confidence, and lie 'has imparted to the adminis* tration of justice in his Courts a sense of dignity and security such as, without djs. paragement to his predecessors, it never before possessed. A jury has been summoned to make inquiry into the origin of the recent fire which destroyed Mr Campbell's cottage. The inquest is held at the special request of the owners and insurers, for their mutual satisfaction, and will take place at the Court House, at 1 o'clock to-day, before Mr Keyell, R.M. The Golden Fleece Company started crushing on Friday last. There is about 400 tons of stone in the paddock, and the new coal tramway having been completed, everything in now in first-rate going order. The Government are whipping the cat with a vengeance, and from the biggest offi' oial gun, down to the most diminutive piece of fire-works in Her Majesty's New Zsaland service, the butter is being scraped from the official bread with grim impartiality. From the mighty Under-Secretary at Wellington, to the mite-y telegraph messenger at Beefton, all are to participate in the 10 per cent, reduction. The days of " fat takes " in quartz mining in the lnangahua are not yet over, and some persons continue to draw handsome prizes from the game of speculation. The last Is dividend in the United Alpine Company hns let loose a considerable amount of capital, and as the shares are largely held in Beefton. much of the needful flows in this direction. One local Bananznrian receives £150, while several pthor luoky holders draw £100s . and downwards. The reef in the mine is 26ft in thickness, so we will leave ail those who are " out in the cowld " to imagine what pros* perity means. We understand that the Government are in negotiation with the owner for the pur* chase of one of the stran 1 sections, near the sito of the bridge. The ground is required for the northern approach. The patient, John Maher, is, we learn, progressing very favorably. Mr H. C. Bowman on Monday last took over formally the auctioneering and general agency business of Mr John M'Gaffin. Mr M'Ghffiu, has, wa learn, purchased a leading business in another West Coast town, and will shortly prooaed thither. A tragic termination to an amusiug incident was witnessed a few weeks ago at Massegros, in France A man .with a dancing bear arrived in the evening, and begged a lodging of a farmer for himself and charge. The bear was accordingly turned into the pigsty after the pig had been removed tp another shelter. In the middle of the night three malefactors appeared on the scene, with the intention of stealing the former's pig. The result can easily be imagined. The bear gave the men a warm reception, promptly flooring the two who ventured into the stye before they discovered the substitution of the animals. The third robber was petrified with fright at the fate of his companions, but managed to shout for help, and the farmer and bear keeper w,Bre sooa on the spot. They found the first man quite dead ; the second is still dangerously ill, and it is feared that the pig-stealing adventure has destroyed the reason of the other. A writer in the " Edinburgh Eeview " for January, 1873, Bays : — " We have seen a list of eighty-nine estates in England and Scotland, where the dring traffic has been altogether suppressed with the very happiest social results. The late Lord Palmerston suppressed the beeinshops at Eomsey as fust as the leases fell in. We know an estate which stretches for miles along the romantic shore of Loch Fyne where no whiskey is allowed to be sold. The peasants and fishermen are flourishing, they all have money in the bank, and they obtain higher wages than their neighbors when they go to sea." The Ghanuel tunnel has not " fallen into the water," as the French say. The experimental works arj still going on. The shaft dug by the society formed for testing the possibility of constructing the tunnel has reached the layer, and difficulties occassioncd by the influx of water, which were considerable in the upper layers, have been remedied. A second shaft is about to be made for the descent of the materials necessary for the construction of the tunnel. The society bns still three years to complete its experiments before transforming itself into a working company. Twenty years ago the Licensed Victuallers 5 Protection Society declared that "to throw open the trade would be to throw open tlic floodgates of vice and drunkenness, wbicl; would have the effect of counteracting the efforts mtfie to instruct and elevate the people of the land." Verily the truth is mighty and will prevail ! The Empress of Austria, it is said, gets ur. at six o'clock every morning. Of course then she builda the fire and pu's on the teakettle before Francis Joseph gets up» There are over 185,000 houses licensed ir Greit Britain for the sale of alcoholic liquors. From an American paper we observe that the Oaborne combined wire and twine selfbinder appears to be beating all competitors in the prrrat grain growing States of the Union this season. The arrangements which enable either wire or twine to be used at pleasure are considered a great feature in its favor, foi

it would seem that lht> respective cost of these materials differs considerably according to the state of tho iron and hemp markets—somctiraps one and sometimes tho other being the cheapest and to farmers who have thousands of acres to cut this difference often maans ft good- round sum. Of course here, where the individual areas are comparatively email, tho difference of a few cents in the cost of bi-.diug material matters less, but it is nevertheless an advantage to be able to use either at convenience,. without delay arid without trouble. 41 several exhibi ions and competitions m Illionis and elsewhere, the Osborne was submitted to the severest tests and is satf to haye done~ it. work in each hutanes to perfection, not a 8in S le break down being recorded against" it. The tightness of .the W*g, ; whether with twine or wire, is repeatedly referred to in emphatic terms. A Gentleman called at. our offico today and described a curious phenomenon that he witnessed yesterdny,. wlule traversing the hills at the rear of Newtown, Suddenly there appeared far out at sea an immense wave It was fully 40 feet in height. It conhnaed , for nearly a minute ; and then subaided.Wellington Chronicle. .■».,.• The census will be taken in Great Bnbun on the ni,ht of the 3rd April, 1881. There will be no" religious" column m the fo.ms supplied for the : purpo9e. The following extraordinary tale of. torture has appeared" inthe Columns of the London "ele-rapb :-Dr Schweinfurth, m a lecture which he. recently deliyeivd at the Berlin Geographical Society on. tho. Bubject of his latest explorations in Central Africa, gave his hearers a thrilling account of the mode in which capital punishment is inflicted upon criminals by the Al-Q.uadjls, a small tributary off-shoot of the great and powerful Dojour people. The malefactor condemned to die is bound'to^a post firmly driven into the ground in some open place whore no trees afford a shade, and is there slow 1 y- roasted to deathnot by any artificial means involving a waste of fuel, but by the natural heat of the sun's rays as they reach our c^rth in its equatorial regions. To protract his sufferings aud to avert bis too speedily "end by sunstroke, the ingenious Al Quadjis cover their en-ing com* patriots' heads with fn»li'gr«m leases, which effectually shield the' brain from Phoebus darts. Ko. such, protection is, however, accorded to his body, which gradually dries up, shrinks together, and ultimately becomes carbonised. One chance of salvation is open to the roasting mar, while as yet he iano* completely ' done to death.' If n cloud, pas? between the sun and his place of torment he is at once cast loose from his post, and becomes tW object of popular reverence, as n mighty magician, in whoso behalf the Bupernaturul powerß have deigned directly to intervene. But clouds seldom interfere with the administration of justice on the days chosen for public executions by tho AlQ.uadji authorities ; at least, that appears to be Dr Schweinfurth's experience of African weather as far as it bears upon the judicial roasting of malefactors'.'