THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRT-WEEKLY MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 1880.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, 23 August 1880, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRT-WEEKLY MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 1880.

It was the" custom of the ancient Thracians to weep at tbe birth of a child, and to commemorate death with a festival. Our oitiliaation has taught hs to reverie this order, ! but John Chinaman goes a little further. In order to keep alive bis grief at the loss of a I defunct kinsman he repairs to the grave, or is enjoined by his religion to do so, at least once a year, there to re-open the flood-gates of his sorrow, It ia not always that Chinamen are sufficiently well off to keep up the rite, but when they - are, it is never neglected. Thunday last was the day fixed upon for the celebratiQn of the ceremony inthe Reefn . ton cemetery, and the Chinamen gathered in from far and near. The fatted pig, holus ' bolus, and beautifully roasted, was brought 1 out of the hamper and deposited on a spank new table-cloth spread in front of the grave The pig wat yet smoking hot, having just been 1 taken out of the oven, and, notwithstanding the solemn surroudingi, diffused a grateful and appetising odour of roast pork. Further • dives into the hamper produced roast and boiled fowls,, all tastefully trussed,' and lathered over With fish oil. These were set round the pig, and the whole having been so to speak fenced in with bottles of wine and brandy, the table was laid. Another of the number then produced about half-a-dozen pounds of candles, which he lighted and : stuck in the earth over the grave, as also a number of Chinese candles. Every thiug being ready, the Europeans present expected to see the Chinamen "'fall to." upon the, good j things provided, and more than one had an especial eye upon the three»star brandy. Much, however, to the disappointment of all present the Chinamen did not " break • bulk," but merely knelt before the repast and bowed three times. The whole having in r turns gone through this performance, the edibles were returned carefully to the hamr per, and borne homewards. The- bottles of wine jand brandy wefe, however, left be- ' hind, and having been beheaded by one of the Mongolians, were ho*pitably circulated , amongst tbe spectators. The celebration be« ing over, and the last Chinaman having passed out the cemetery gate, the lighted candles on the grave were immediately conn fiscated by the larrikins, who next proceeded to drain the bottles. r The flood in the Inangabua river on Saturday last, though unusually high for this time r of the year, did not reach the height em pected- from the quantity of rain which fell. ' At dusk, however, the ' river was running within about eighteen inches of the top of the protective works, and attracted the usual number of sight-seers. There had evidently • been some extensive land slips higher up the country, as large quantities of live trees came down', and the flood water was unusually ' tbict. While the river was at its greatest . volume a large patch of the stone facing on the opposite bank, near . the Chinamen's j garden, tumbled into the stream. By yes* terday morning the river had dropped to its . ordinary level, when the full measure of the damage done could be ascertained. In the vicinity of the brewery a further encroach* ment has taken place, and one of the orates recently put in to proteot the bank there has been displaced. The stone embankment be* low the bridge has also suffered to some extent, a section having been swept away from the lpweu end. A considerable scour has taken place round the stone-work shielding the southern scaffold of the suspension bridge, and if not attended to before the next flood comes, may necessitate a much more costly work. Tbe most serious encroachment has taken place*' along the southern side, from tbe end of the stone work down to tbe bridge, and it is plain to be seen that until this gap is protected there can be no security for either Boeetown or either of the bridges. The Curandini company are announced to 1 appear in Dawson's Hall to-morrow evening, and the fame which this talented troup has enjoyed throughout the Australasian Colonies for over a quarter of a centuary, will, we doubt not, do more to ensure for them a crowded reception than anything we can say. The eitfincs of the District Court, before his Honor Judge Weston, will open on Wed. nesday next, for the despatch of criminal and pivil business. Jurors summoned are warned to be in attendance at the appointed 3 hour. f The auction *ale of Mr J. M'G-nffin's fur» niture has been postponed until Saturday next. The wind and thunder-storm which, visited 'be Inangahua on Saturday last, seems to have prevailed to a greater or leas extent oyer the wbple pf the West Coast. Alpng

the sea coast a terri6o gale raged on Saturday, an* it was reported that a brewery had been b'own down at Westport. Later in the day telegraphic communication with Beefton was interrupted, by the blowing down of ll* lines north and south, so that^we are particulars as to the full effbcts of he floods in the down country districts. In Eteefton the only damage done was the blowJown of some fencing. We shall, however, be quite prepared to hear that the mam road has suffered seriously through floods and landslips.. . »- j : i, 7 „ / ' The returns ftom the Keep-it-Dark battery for the past week were as follows : Number of tons crushed, 174 ', amount of amal* gam collected; 2040z. „,.,,. The returns from the United Alpine bat* tery for the week ended on Saturday last, were^Ooz of amalgam from 145 tons of stone. =. ."■■.,.. ■ '"- '„ "- : „ il" - : We learn that the County Council has rei solved to dispense no more charitable aid to destitute persons. It has become necessary to take this step in donseqjience o^he refusal •of the GoTfirntnent to continue the Charity able Aid grant. Thanks to the promptitude of the Greymouth mail contractors, the mail was pushed through' yesterday, the coach arriving here early in the afternoon. Mack reports the I road" to have sustained no serious injury from the floods. The Westport mail did not arrive yesterday. We publish elsewhere a statement of the proposed income and expenditure of the County Council for the incoming financial year, from which it will be seen that it is in contemplation to levy a Is rate during the year. It will be seen that it will require tbe whole year's roceipts to release the Council from its present embarrassment, The last sitting of the County Council will be remembered as the longest yet held. It commenced on Wednesday last, and lasted with short adjournments until Friday. The amount of business got through, was. however, comparatively small, the bulk of the time having been taken up with discussions in committee, or windy debates in open meeting. With regard to Mr Ba'nnan's application re the Big Biver track, it was resolved ou the motion of Mr Gallagher, seconded by Mr Williams, that " Mr Barman be informed that the Engineer would inspect his road as early as possible, and that the Counoil are not in a position to pay any money fort the ' cpnstf uction of tracked [Big Biver.? * V We ienrn that nearly the whole of the main road maintenance contractors have, acoepted the compromise offered by the Counoil, and signified their willingness to relinquish their contracts upon, the terms , offered . The names of those who have accepted are Messrs Byrne and Beilly (Nos. 1 and 2 sections, Buller Boad) ; F. Courtney, (No. 5 section, Buller Boad) ; Seawright and Gilmer (No. 1 section. Grey Boad) } and Mur. ray Brothers (No. 3 section, Grey Boad.) Messrs Began (No. 3 section, Buller Boad) ; J. Osborne, (No, 2 section, Grey Boad) ; and James O'Malley (Nob. 4 and 8 sections, Grey Boad), have up to the present time refused to accept the terms offered. ;\ . : The income tak, to be now raised to 6d in the £, has been levied at that rate in only three of all the years since the tax was imposed by Sir Bobert Feel in 1842. He fixed it at 7d in the £, and for twelve years that rate remained unchanged. The war with Bussia caused this tax to be raised to (for two years) Is 4d in the £, (on incomes of £150), and, in the 26 years since the change from 7d, the income tax has been above 6d in nine years, and below 6d in fourteen years, 2d being the lowest. It was 6d in the financial years IQQIr-65 1868-69, and 1871-2. it wis • but 2d in 1874-75 and 1875-76. By the Evidence Amendment Act, intro - duced by Mr Stewart, it is proposed that the following confessions and communications shall be privileged, and. not admissible in evidence in any civil orloriminal proceedings, except with the express oonsent of the person alleged to have made any such confession or communication :— 1. All confession made to' a minister of the gospel or priest, in his professional character. 2. All communications made to a physician or surgeon in hie professional pharacter by any of hie patients ; and the word ' communications " herein shall include all information acquired necessary to enable such physician to prescribe for, or such surgeon to do any act for such patient. 3. All confessions made by any such person whilst in thecußtody of a police officer, unless tbe same shall have been made in the presence of a Justice of the Peace : Provided that nothing in this section contained shall protect any communication made for any criminal purpose. It is further provided any prisoner may elect to give evidence on his own behalf but shall be liable to be cross examined, subject to any restriction the Court may think fit to place on suoh cross examination. A husband or wife may be also a competent and compellable witness in any criminal proceedings, -with the exception that they shall not be compelled to give evidence or disclose any communication made by the one to the other of them duriDg their marriage- It is further provided that from the passing of the Act no civil remedy which any person may have against any other person for any act or omission, shall be suspended or affected by the fact that such act or omission amounts to a criminal offence. Writing on this question, the Wairarapa Daily says : In England a poor man with a large family, when he is hard up, will risk imprisonment by snaring a rabbit or two to replenish his scanty larder. In New Zealand the poor man can go' any day and get a score of rabbits, and sell them for, say, 6d. a piece, or should the market be overstocked, get ljd. for their skins Yet, though he has perhaps, not a sixpence in his pocket, he does'nt go. He does'nt take the " good thingft that God provides," but hangs about waiting for something or nothing to turn up. Any able-bodied man can any day walk to the Opafci or Waingawa, and secure a load of rabbits. If he has not a gun he can take a dog $ if he has not a dog he can take a spade

and dig them out ; if he han't a Bpcde be can get a piece of wire and snare them. A large dog belonging to a well-known resident of Timaru is, says the South Canterbury Times, in the habit of robbing the railway department by taking a trip when he goes abroad. It is quite a common thing for him to yisit Duriadin and return to Timaru within tbe eaine week, and the astonishing thing is that ho travels on hisbwn account without owner or guardian. He has been noticed to follow a train in motion, and to leap on the carriage platform. The other day a resident borrowed him forlpig-huViting purposes^, but yesterday when the North train arrived hi 9 owner found him leading from a first-class carriage. This dog is prized for his sagacity but we call it rascality, and railway authorities wilL probably agree with us. From the sublime to the ridiculous ; what a short step ! Our old friend Clara Stephen* son was playing in " Janet Pride " at Wellington recently. In the scene where the fond and distracted niothor 1b bending over the cradle in which her .much-beloved infant is lying dangerously ill. Miss Stephenson, who was enacting the part of fond parent, pourtrayed the agony of the. mother in such a realistic manner that the audience were entranced. In a moment a titter, gradually swelling to a loud peal of laughter, went round the houue. « Oh. 'dear what can the matter be," thought the indignant actress as she glared at tbe audience She speedily discovered, however, Clara is a very powerful actress. In the torrent of endearment which she lavished on the stage baby, she 'rantically dragged from underneath the clothes the log which was doing; duty. Some of the audience probably thought she was about to end the misery of the babe, but upon hearing her apostrophise the block of wood as "her heart's , blood," " her dearest treasure," and " her best and only hope," they couW stand it no longer and literally roared. lam not aware whether the curtain was dropped, but I should imagine some of the "supers' 1 and especially the 'property man ' had a lively time. -'Here and There,' in the Cbrietchurch Star.