THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, MAY 6, 1881.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue II, 6 May 1881, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, MAY 6, 1881.

Should (he Government proclaim the lockup at Reefton a public gaol, as we are tolc they intend to do, then the object of th< paragraph, which we recently published ii reference to the West '6oast prison system will be gained, and another large depart mental excrescence will have been removed, The presence here recently of the commissioners, Messrs Seed and Batkin, was i favourable time for giving this long standing abuse an extra twist, and fortunately th< action of the police in regard to the removal of M'Gahey to Hokitika afforded a good opportunity of doing so, though that io< stance was not the only one which we couic have cited for the guidance of the commissioners. For years past the same stupid system has prevailed in regard to the custody of all offendeis. Nearly every commitment whether for petty larceny or more gravi offences which has been made in the Magist trate's Court here for years past, has beei followed by a holiday trip for the prisonei and a policeman, either to Westport oi Hokitika, and the amount thus expended in coach fare, travelling allowance and eucl like, must have been enormou', to say nothi'g of the impropriety or even danger oi leaving the district without adequate protection during the absence of the policeman, Another crying evil resulting to the trading community from the system was that before a willfully defaulting debtor cou'd be imprisoned upon an order of the Court a sum of £10 had to bejlodged by the judgment credi* tor to cover the cost of conveying the prisoner to Hokitika. Of course in all small debt cases no creditor could be found foolish enough to throw away such a lump of good money, and hence it has been that the ma» cbinery of the Magistrate's Court has utterly failed in such cases to afford business people the slightest protection. We are glacf, however, to find that the evil has at length exhausted itself. We long fought for a suitable' lock-up and police quarters in Reefton, and now that both have been provided it is but right that they should be ton for Melbourne after the 12th April were mailed per Tararua, which left Chrisfnhureh on the 27th ultimo, and therefore went down with the vessel. We learn, however, that the bulk of the maiUbags have since been recovered from the wreck, having been found floating in the sea. We learn from Mr Sampson, the local postmaster, that the let ters will Bufl'er little by (heir immersion, being

tied up firmly in large packets, in which condition they have been known to stand three months' immersion without material injury. The regular monthly practice of the Fire Brigade will be held at the engine-room this evening, at the usual hour. The adjourned sitting of the Assessment Court for the Hidings of Reefton, Murray, Crushington, Boatman's and Antonios, will be held on Saturday morning. We regret to learn that Mr Frank \7alker. of Boatman's is very seriously ill. A fresh election to fill the vacancy in the County Council caused by tho death of Mr John Williams, has been fixed to take place at Boatman's on the 23rd May next. Norm* nations will be received up till noon of Saturn day, 14th instant. Possessors of light fantastic toes will be glad to learn that Mr Fama has revived bis usual course of winter assemblies, in Dawson's Hall, the opening gathering being fixed for to-night.- v West Coast excursionists will be glad to learn that Mr Charles Hudson, the courteous -antLpbUging purser of the steamer Hero, lias buen promoted- to \he more responsible position of purser in the magnificent Roto* mabana. We also understand that Captain Logan (also of the Hero) will shortly pro* ceed to England, for the purpose of assuming the command of the Manipori, a splendid twin steamer to the Rotomahnna, which has just been built for the Union Company. The hearing of the charge of wilful murder against the prisoner David M'Gahey was commenced before the Magistrate yesterday, but the evidence taken was identical with that elicited at the inquest, and which has already been fully reported by as. --Three new witnesses-— Alexander M'Dowalj James Ma^namara, and Patrick Carey, were called, but nothing new was elicited. The accused abstained from cross-examining the witnesses. Ihe case will probably occupy the whole of toaday. A bazaar and Christmas tree, in aid of the Church of England Fund, will be held at Chratmas next, and the committee have de# cided to send to Europe for a choice col lee* t'ion of fancy wares for the occasion. During the reception of Laycock at Melbourne J. Thompson said that it was false that Trickett had sold his race. In conae* quence of the rumor Trickett had told him thathje would^ot return to; Australia until he had again fought' the battle out With Hadlan in America. Laycock also bore testimoney to the genuineness of Triokett's pulling. W. L, Bees, solicitor, has laid another.information against Wickham,. of the Free Lance', for a leading article in Saturday's issue, as being offensive and published for the purpose of annoyance and provocation. Wickbam is Bummonned for Wednesday, The article objected to concludes thus:— "We shall fight for our right to make comments on the actions of Messrs Bees and Hurst, when they adect publio interests, with our ?89t sbirt and our last shilling." The Nelson Colonist cannot help thinking there is a considerable error somewhere in the recent tafcirigj. of the census of the town of Nelson, which shows an increase of only 168 souls during the past three years, after omitting the returns of individuals oh board ships in port, inasmuch as the number of empty houses in town at present appears to be very small indeed, whereas the number of houses which have been erected during the past three years has been greater j proportion* ately, than for many years past. The increase in the number of births over the deaths during the period referred to, must alone be more than 168. The Census returns in 1878 gave a total of 6871. including 268 on board vessels, (an emigrant ship with passengers for other places was in port), and the numbers according to the present statement are 6807 including 36 on board vessels. The following particulars relative to the mßn who recently killed himself at Takaka by drinking two bottles of brandy appear in the Colonist: — The deceased had suffered considerably from rheumatism, and being recommended brandy he applied in Takaka, but would not give the price asked, his son-in-law hearing of it sent him to bottles from Richmond by someone coming over. It seems he drank about 32 ounces, arid next rooming was found in a state of coma. Dr Tilby was sent for, but the man was dead when he arrived. Verdict : Died in conse* quence of taking a large quantity of brandy as a remedy for rheumatism. It appears he was working for Mr H, Bryne.of Wignaro, and lived by himself in a small house on the property. Of the seventy-six members who took their seats in the first session of the fifth Parliament of New Z 'aland, which wbb opened by his Excellency Sir George Bowen on the 14th of August 1871 only twenty-one hold seats at the present time. Mr Macandrew is the 1 father of the House,' having been elected previously to any other member but is closely followed by Sir G. M. O'Rorke. Some naughty boys who had been turned out of a Wesleyan soiree at Oamaru avenged themselves by sprinkling cayenne pepper on wadding and setting fire to it in the hall. The result was that the building was coon cleared. The Oamaru Mail commenting on the occurrence says :— " It was a cruel joke and we hope that the perpetrators felt abjectly ashamed of themselves as they saw the audience consisting of old as well as young people suffering from the most distressing paroxysms and ultimately driven to the Wesleyan Church. An Asthmatic lady who is in exceedingly delicate health was almost suffocated apd scarcely had sufficient strengthremaining to enable her to leave the hall. The following colloquy took place at the meeting the other night of Mr Stevens, one of the members for Christchurch City : An elector— Mr Stavenp, you have not touched on the subject of the West Coast Railway. Mr Stevens — No, because I felt sure that I should have to answer a numb-r of questions on the subjeot. ' However, since you have mentioned the subject, I will say a word or two on it. When the late Government took office, I may say that I took great interest in tho matter. Iv 1878 I communicated

with the Chamber of Commerce here, and also saw the tlieu Minister of Public Works in conjunction with the other Canterbury members, and I think three West Coast mem< bers. We first discussed the matter in our private meetings of members, and afterwards had an interview with the Government. Out of that interview with the Government sprung. I believe, the survey, with the result of which you are all acquainted. That survey, I believe, did not result very satisfactorily — at least so far as the opinions of those interested in the making of the line are concerned. It ia, I think you will allow, perfectly evident now that the Government have not the money to undertake the work, It is also evident that no further loan Can be obtained from England at present, because, as you are aware, the loan agents gate a promise when the last loan was raised that the colony would not appear on the London money market as a borrower for three years. Therefore, we cannot raise any money in England until December, 1882. Thus we come back to see what facilities the Government can give a company. I may say at once that I see no reason why the Govlrnment^hpuW notjjve — under proper conditions, of course— eon*" cession of lands toi^WnjptiD^^BWmWrnfusn§~ who may embark in such a work [Chf era ] While 1 8ay,this ; let me also say that I hold the opinion that the Government should not givo all the land in any particular d'strict, but should reserve some, so as to bo able to get something out of it. Beyond this general opinion Ido not feel, inclined to go, because we have net yet heard the result of the survey of the engineers who have gone out, as it were, to test the work of Messrs Thornton and; Browne generally . I may say lam favorable to giving concessions of land for making railway lines such as that proposed, But, gentleman, you must not lose sight of this fact, that you cannot confine this principle to any particular locality. You must expect, if this general principle of concession is agreed upon, to have applications from elsewhere. Nor must we say any more about property holders having large estates, because the company as proposed will hold a great estate, and be enabled to do as they like with it. An Elector— Will you support tho Bill if it comes before the House ? Mr Stevens — It is customary, I believe, for a public man to sco a Bill before saying whether he will support it of not. The Bill in question I have not seen, probably because it is not in existence. Therefore, I cannot say ; bnt I generally support the principle of giving concessions of land for making such works. [Cheers.] Therefore, I thing I have satisfactorily answered the question. I don't know what more I can say. [Cheer?.] Says a writer in the Oamaru Mail : — " One hundred and thirty-five pounds for the privilege of selling drink upon the race-course during a two days' meeting ! What food for reflection is here presented ! What scope for the eloquence of our /noralists ! What a fruitful field for the employment of acute arithmeticians ! I fancy I can see one of those figure-wise gentlemen arraying before an astonished multitude a calculation showing the enormous number of ' refreshers ' that the proud possessor of the privilege must sell in order to make a profit ; for, mind you, in addition to the large sum paid for the right of sale he must also pay for his stock, for fitting up stalls, for cartage, waiters, etc..