THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1880.

Inangahua Times, Volume 16, 22 October 1880, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1880.

The Lynch family of bellringers arrived bere last night, and intend to give I heir first performance at Bawson's Hall this evening. As they are very highly spoken of by the Press in all parts of the colony, we trust that they will command good " houses " while here. Should the weather prove favourable, no dnuht the customary liberal patronage will be bestowed by the Reefton and Black's Point public besides those from the out* side districts, which at all times have manifested a due appreciation of true talent. The untimely death of Mr John M'Nab, which we reported in our last issue as haviug occurred in Grey mouth, on Tuesday last, is greatly regretted by his numerous friends, by whom he was very highly respected for his many and steiling good qualities, nnd which were fully appreciated by those with w hom he came in contact. The grief is felt more keenly on account of him passing away among comparative strangers without any of his friends being near him to receive his last wishes! He was a native of Scotland, 34 years old, nnd one of »he contractors for mining timber to the Keeptit-Dark Company, where he got hurt falling: o y er a stump. With the exceplion of a broken rib nothing serious wa« ♦bought of the case. After leaving the hospital convalescent he proceeded to Greymouib for change of nir to hasten his recovery, whera he ox* pirrd ns already Btafed- Mr William Cummings has cone down, delegated by <he St. Andrews Heather Bell Lodge, of which the deceased was h member, to arrange fur a suitable funeral, which is likely to take place to -day. Mr Blackett. C.E., reached the Inan* enhua Junction from Nelson lost week, nnd proceeded on to Westport. He rel nrned eirly in the present week in company with the overseer of the Puller C<nmtv, and made a careful examination of (he site for the proposed bridge over 'he Inangahua near the Junction. It lias, we be'ieve, bepn found that a bridge ran be constructed there at rrobablv less c ist than is "required to bri '?e the Inan« gijhnn at; Reeffon. Mr Blarkelfc has since returned to Hiimnden. but we are unaware whether ho pontem"la'es retrac* in/ his ste; s fo l?eefton. We think it a nil v the C I'inty G -utcil here did not ask Mr Gardnnr to meet Mr Blackett, and render nry anMiiiona! local information that mieht hare boon required. The Bailor toil from the Landing fo the. novthern boundary of the Conntv is already bpginning (o betray evidence* of neglect. The ruts aie in places deep, nnd filit'd with stacnant water. It is only too evident that something most shortly be 'done to effect repairs. Mr Cox is, we helipve. (lip first of the waggoners on the road who has adopted the wide tiers, but ns the oihsrs will no doubt soon follow the example, if the ru<s were new raked in. n good bearing surface for the wheels would soon be formed. There wap a ?ery long silting of the Magistrate's Court yesterday, and the ni'endiince o ! suitors and witnesses whs the highest seen for many a day. The t'a^e of Mills v. Hoi'rL'an op.i-uoipd Hip greater part of the day, Iherp being a 'argp number of wit nesses on each side. Mr and Mrs Potts left Ifepflon by this morning's coat-h for Gieymoulb en rov.te tor the Melbourne Exhibition. We wKh them a bon voyage, great erij'iyment, ami a safe return. Several of our towns-

people bavin.;* preceded tfyein, and others are contemplating to follow, so that the whole district will be fairly represented at the " world's show," which is now at« tracting visitors from all parts of the g'obe. We tush we were one of the number, but, as that cannot be on the present occasion, we, like the patient Du'chman. who was prevented from joining the centenary celebrations, will 'wye to rrinain consoled with the cheerful prospect of going to the nest. The interpleader ease of Main v, Hewilt, wherein the Welcome Company sought to obtain on order for the with* drawal of the bailiff from the possession of some material intended for construe!, ing the crushing mill for the company at Boatman's, but which had been seized on a distress warrant in satisfaction of judgment in the above ease. Mr Main befne the siw-mill proprietor, who sappljed Mr KevriJt, the contractor for the ereclion j and construction of the battery, etc., for the Welcome Company. Messrs Guinness and Lynch appeared for Iho company, (he other sido was unrepresented by Council. The learned gentlemen quoted numerous authorities in support o ( their pase, and from the testimony of the witnesses called, proved thai Hewitt, after drawing some progress payments to the eslent of £518, already in excess of ihe specified amount according to Ihe terms of the agreement, made a further demand for a bonus of £200 to enable him to finish the contract. This the company refused, and cancelled the contract of Hewitt, who they averred had exceeded the lime stipulated, and afterwards called for tenders for the completion of the work; judgment had in the meantime been ob'ained against Hewitt for material used and delivered and the unfiiiishedwork and material was seizad as above- stated. The company avosred that on having made the progress payments, the property in question got verted in them. This view was upheld bj the Magistrate, who made an order for the bailiff to withdraw from possestion, with costs. In some German military pipers the consequences wliicb a war against China would have on the military position of Russia in Europe are discU9->ed, and it is stated that the alteration* therein produced by such a campaign would be considerable. The Ru-sian forces ore now, as is well known, divided into three separate annies — the European, the Caucasian, and Asiatic. The Cauca?inn army, consisting of twentyeight redments of infantry, four battalions of sharpshooters, and four regiments of dragoons, hag been always regarded as the real reserve of the European army, which now consists of lfi<t aegiments of foot, 56 regiments of cavalry and six brigades of sharpshooters. The Asiatic army may be reckoned at between 60,000 and 70,000 men. These troop care garri»oned over a very large expanse of territory, which tbfly have to occupy for the purpose of holding the different wild tribes in check. Bussia could employ only a very small proportion of thia army against a foreign foe, and it would be quite inipoßßible for her to carry on a war against China with these Asiatic forces alone, all the less as China has a very respectable array at her disposition on the Russian frontier. The Cau casian army could then no more, at least for a long time, be regarded as the reserve forces of the European, and tlie latter wonld, there* 1 fore, no longer be superior to the German army. Even a person who has only a small garden, or who iives in a bush hut in the back country, should sow a few tomatoes against the fence or hut ; if well watered they will be always bearing. Frank Fudge," in the " Saturday advertiser,' thus rebukes the larrikins of Timaru : — It Invercaigill is distinguished for its learning, the great seaport of Ttraavu occupies quite as prominent a position among the towns of New Zealand, though in quite a different line. The Southlanders are the Athenians of the colony, but the Timaruffians are the I Spartans. The development of brave and ! warlike qualities is as much pursued in Timaru in the present day as it was in Laconia under Lycurgus. It is true that the Timaruuuns have not as yet figured at a Tht-r-nopylsß, but they hnvfl distinguished themselves on different occasions after a most valiant fashion. The gallant bombardment of a cottage in Stuart sta^et, Dunedin, is st.ll fresh in the memory of my renders, and the siege of Timaru is an affair that can never die. But the crowning glory of the Timaru ruffiins was gained afew evenin s ago, when a brave band of those gallant fellows attacked a poor old man of three- score and ten with showers of rotten eygs. Such a noble deed dt-'sorves to be chronicled and treasured in the of the nation. The dauntless daring exhibited in tho a'taok on that harmless old ■ colonist '' Captain Jackson Barry " deserves recognition, and the " Rottjpn Egg Brigade " of Timaru are deserving of new colors — on their backs with cat-o'-nine-tails. A few weeks ago Mr Gladatone foresaw the present situation at Dulcigno, and proposed a naval demonstration at Stamboul, and the forcing of the Hellespont if necessa'y. He even named the ships and regiments to be selected for service. Germany, however, refused, and the proposal w*s coldly received by the Queen. . At a tneelinT of the Melbourne TTaiboTrust on the §th hut., Mr Brady was instructed to interview Dr. TJrctor on l lie sulij.'ct of the suitability of New Zi-al&nd limber for the pip'pospi of !i:« Trust. The "Times," refer' }ng to a letter by Mr Sheridan, of A'/el.iide, winch u-ge« lint fr-ipitalists before auya'aeio^ loans to. e-iUmirs ahou d inquire wh't proportion it wus in tended p expend on intiiiijrati'Jii. says lint; the Australian iii'lebtrfdiiuss, tried by any statistical test, is a mere bagatelle and 1 1 1 a • the colonies, when prosperous, will at tract imtni'M'ants. Referring to JSiew Zealand, how- | ever,°tbe "Times" euys that the elate of

debt really .embarrasses it, and the colony is j now bound to show its ability to pay to way for some years to come without further borrowing. The Tcmulta Leader says i—VTa were shown on Tuesd-iy lust a curious sight in the j shape of a lamb bom with two iongu^s, eight j legs, (wo bodies, and two tails. The bodies j estend from .the shoulders, and are perfect; in pvery way. The lamb was dropped on Monday by a purenbred Leicester ewe, on Mr G.-ant's farm, Temuka. As a, freak of nature, the lik&has never beforo come under our notice. It was forwarded by Tuesday's express to the Clirischurch. Mu3euir,, Gov. Duval, j|f Florida, was the son of a poor Virginian, «tern, strong, taciturn man. The boy was mhuge youth of 15. At the cabin fire, 4t pllb time, according to the custom of puiktin| on a back log, the old mau suid, belweenitfi| whiffs of his sil*nt pipe :— " Tub, go oufc'i^^ bring in that gum back lo", and put it on the fi-e Tub went out and surveyed tbi^log. He knew it was no use explaining that it? was too heavy, nor prudent for him to return without having it on his shoulder. IJis littje sister, parsing, was not surprised that be requested her to bring out the gtin and powder horn, as a possum or coon might have passed, or th« brothers might have seen bear signs. Sbojy'ought- the gun and Tab started. He found bis way through the woods into itenluoky, in 1-791. After nn absence of eighteen year 3he wus elected to Congress. A man of immense strength, he started for Washington going by the way of his old hotnpj to see the folks who had long since given him up for deid. Entering the little cabin door, near bed ti ne, he saw the identical gunjjflog. He shouldered it, pulled the latch«B(img> and with his load burst before the; gW man, pipe in mouth, quiet as usual. oie ' 9 the gum back-log tutber." •' Well, Jylu've been a long time getting it. Put it • the fire and go to bed," wan tbe reply. | A Franklin (United States) telegram tells tbe following horrible story : — A German named Grossm m keeps a large beer saloon in this place. Two of his children were sent into the cellar a few days ago to get some Swiss cheese that wa< etoi'ed iv a vault formely used by a brewer An army of starving rats disputed thpir passage, and while the elder of the children fought the animals wiih a piece of iron, the other returned to the saloon, and screamed for assistance, saying that his brother was in the vault surrounded by rats. Mr Grossman and two neighbours armed themselves with clubs and hastened to the" rescue of t'ue boy. The siijht that met their eyes as tluv entered the vault was one such as they had never before witnessed. The army of r:>ta seemed to numbjr thousands. The men joined in the contest, but co numerous and persistent wore ■ the rat 9 that ihey were more than on hour in conquering them. Dead rats lay piled on every side, and their number was so greatly reduced that the survivors were driven to their boles. Eight hundred and nineteen dead rats were carried from the vault. Tbe carcases filled a large two horse waggon boi, and were a good load' for a team to draw oway. The only minister of the late Cabinet to whom a pension bus yet been granted is Lord John Manners, who, under the Act of 1869, takes a second-class pension of £1500 a yeir. It is not yet certain whether Lord Beaconßfield will resume his pension of £2000 but in ordinary coursn he will do so us there is nonecessity for# Minister who has already made the application required by the statute to repeat it a second time. The other firstclass pensions are drawn by Sir Greorge Grey Mr Milneur Gibson, and Mr Spencer Waipole.