THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY,MAY 13,1881.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue II, 13 May 1881, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY,MAY 13,1881.

As soon as the resignation by Mr Edward Masters,; of his seat in the House of Bepre.entatiyes became known in Beief?_ si jtnei^l|^l _BtTmlier influeuti^ws.dent*, waff -orwarded at once by telegram to Mr T. S. Weitafi, <>^ ChH^chtfrch, asking bim to become a candidate for the vacancy. As will be seen by Mr Weston's reply, which we subjoin, he has been compelled to decline the invita* tion, for the reason of non-registration The reply caused much regret locally, in which we fully share, and there is no doubt that his candidature would have been as acceptable and popular throughout the Grey Valley and Greymouth as in the Inangahua, where he would, we believe, have carried a block vote, How* ever, it was not to be, and we can, therefore, only join in tbe generally ex« pressed wish that on some future occasion circumstances may will it others wise. The following is Mr Weston's reply :— " Chb'Stchubch, May 12, 1881. I value yo«T kindness exceedingly, but am obliged to refuse. As a judge, I abstained from politics, and not realising, since my dismissal, that a vacancy in any district would arise so soon, or that I should be so honored, I deferred registering— thus, although possessed of property in various places, I am disqualified. The chances are against my ab.lity to qualify before the election, as it is certain- to be held soon, and indeed it would not be right for the electors to accept the risk. See Registration Elect tors Act, 1879; section 3, Qualification Electors Act same vear. My earnest desire is to promo'e West Coast interests to the uttermost, and although I sorrowfully decline, perhaps, I may be remembered by tbe electors on a future occasion.— Thos. S. We^ton'" Mr G. G. Frrz-tEBALD, formerly Itesie dent Magistrate at Hokitika, and now o r Wanganui, and well known on the West Coast, has declared his intention of offering himself as a candidate for the vacancy caused in the representation of the Grey galley Electorate by the resignation of Mr E. Masters. Mr Fitz G skald's address to the electors wili be published in our next issue. There aro few persons, we feel assu-ed, but will feel sorry to hear of Mr E. Master's resignation, but still more so that the step has been brought about in consequence of failing health. Short "as Mr Master's representative career has been, he has not only fully justified the confidence of those wh o were instrumental in returning him, bnt has won the respect and esteem of all sides of opinion. In his quiet, unpretentious way he has been able to render good service to the constituency, and in parting with a representative of whom all this may be truth* fully said, we cannot but feel that the West Coast is losing, if not a loud and blustering advocate, at least a truo and worthy guardian. Another bakery is to be started in town shortly, Mr John Dick is erecting an oven on premises nearly opposite the Bank of New Zealand, Broadway. In connection with the ordinary business Mr Dick intends also to supply pies and coffee, together with all sorts of fancy goods belonging to the trade. We understand that it is the intention of a number of friends in Beefton to get up an art-union of Mr George Jacque's property in Shiel-street, in order to raise sufficient money to enable tbe unfortunate sufferer to proeeed with his family to Adelaide, where he has friends who would endeavor to procure some kind of employment for him. It will be recollected tint Mr Jacques accidentally lost his eye-sight some four or five years ago by an explosion in one of the mines and being now irreparably blind, and having a large family entirely dependent upon him the case is one wliich will, we are surecarry the sympathy and support of the publia. Tbe property to be disposed of is a valuable one, consisting of a cemfortable dwelling-house, together with freehold section, constituting a very handsome prize. We If api that the downward Greymouth mail will be despatched bv special conveyance at the usual hour this morning, and the up mail wiil be despatched from Ahaura .'iis morning Itis said that several landslips have occurred on both the Grey and Westport roads, tn Jibe "(alter case completely barring all traffic. Our telegrams this morning contain parn ticulars of disasters by floods and storms at both Charleston and ' ! Greymouth. The amount of damage done at each place reaches to the magnitude of a serious public ra_* amity. Fortunately there is no record of loss of hfo. The telegrams wilf speak for themselves. in adjourned meeting will bo held at Mr I L e's oflice on Saturday evening, f.r the pur-

pose of considering the question of driving joint low level tunnel at Boatman's.

We mgret to learn that a cottnge in Finds lay's paddock, occupied by Mr Herman Buggel, was completely destroyed by fire on Wednesday night. Buggel left the cottage at mid-day, after covering up the little fire that remained in the fire-place, aud upon returning from his work in the evening found tbat the cottage had been burnt to the ground, not one stick being left standing. Buggel lost everything he possessed, including money and a number of important private documents.

A very handsome nugget of alluvial gold, weighing some seven or eight ounces is to disposed of by raffle on Saturday evening next. Tickets may be obtained at Quigiey's Hotel.

The following telegram has been received from Wilcannia, Mount Browne diggings : — " There are about 400 people left on tbe field, the majority of whom are encamped at Milperirka waterhole, 10 miles from Mount Browne old township, and seven miles from the nearest diggings. Out of the above number only about 150 are working, chiefly prospecting and dry blowing, Six parties are washing in a shallow hole at Milperinka five

mw mating jhg Wftgftdjrt seven mil eg lid one ten miles. All the people are being supplied with water from the reserved hole at Milperinka which has now only about 2ft. of water in it. This hole is fen cod in, and i$ only used for domestic purposes but the water cannot last much longer. Butler and party have sunk a shaft 80ft. on tbe flat at the southern end of Mount Browne bat have not got gold or water. The strata are alluvial deposit for 76ft., then 2ft. of blue clay as hard as slate, and then black clay. It is intended to sink to 100ft. Large numbers of people left the diggings last week. It is no use people coming up here until rain falls for they can do nothing without water."

An awkward customer for bathers was caught lately at Oamaru. The North Ot ago Times says:— ''On Saturday afternoon two gentleman were in a boat close to the rocks on the west side of the wooden pier, fishing for crayfish with a net, and on hauling up what struck them as being a very heary haul of fish, they discovered that a large cuttle-fish bad got entangled with the net. They in* stantly went for it with a boat hook, but the fish clang to the bottom and sides of the boat with its feelers, and prising itself off, sank to the bottom. The body of this specimen was about a foot and a half in diameter, with feelers of proportionate length, and the wellknown tenacity with which these deservedly* oalle<i devilfish cling to their prey would make death almost a certainty should a small boy find himself alone in the clutches of one of them." A report has been published by the Russian Bed Cross Society, showing the part played by this Society during the Russo* Turkish war of 1877-78. It appears that the Society established 13,120 beds, and that a total of no less than 24,973 were founded by voluntary agencies in conjunction with the Red Cross Society. The, Society, moreover, gave succour to 116,296 patients, among wtiom were 1238 officers. The deaths of patients under their care amounted to 2863. The Society's staff consisted of 300 medical men, including sub-surgeons, and 1214 at* tendants.

An old man named David Beid, while passing a grazing paddock near the Flemington* road, Melbourne, was chased by a donkey. At first he tried to keep it off but the donkey attacked him in the most persistent manner. It knocked the old man down with his fore* feet, bit him in the face, and nearly tore the unfortunate man's jaw off. It then commenced biting the lower parts of his body, and had it not beon that some persons going past noticed the occurrence, and drove the animal away, the poor fellow would have been killed, Beid was admitted ta the hospital j but nothing appears to have been done with the brute which injured him.

An elaborate estimate of the game consumed in Great Britain shows that the con* sumption has increased nearly two*thirds during the last thirty years. The numbers estimated for 1880 are 510,000 grouse and black game at 4s per bird, £102,000 ; 376,000 partridges at 2s, £37,600 ; 334,000 pheasants at 4s, £67,000 ; 500,000 hares at 3s 6d. £87, 500 ; 900,000 rabbits at la 6d, £67,500 ; total head. 7,721,000 ; total value, £361,600 ; to which is added £30,000 for woodcock snipe, wild dmk, etc.

On the subject of snuffing, a curious calculation bas been left on record by Lord Stanhope. ' Every possessed, inveterate, and incurable snuff-taker,' says bis lordship, 'at a moderate computation takes one pinch in ten minutes. Every pinch, with the agreeable ceremony of blowing and wiping the nose and other identical circumstances, consumes one minute and a half. One minute and a half out of every ten, allowing sixteen hours for every snuff- taking day, amounts to two hours and twenty <four minutes out of every natural day, or one day out of ten. One day out of every ten amounts to thirty-six days and a half in a year. Hence, if we suppose (he practice to be persisted in forty years, two entire years of the snuff-taker's life will be dedicated to tickling his nose, and two more to blowing it !'

The Duke of Manchester visited Faribaka on Friday, but both Te Whiti and Tohu were absent, so the Duke lost his expected interview with the Maori prophets.

In a case of suppljing liquor to drunken men, brought against a publican named Little, the proprietor of the Hind Hope Hotel at Asbburton the magistrate inflicted a fine of £5, stigmatising the case as one of the most disgraceful instances of 'lambing* down ' ever brought before him. He hoped it would be brought under the notice of the Licensing Bench.

The following passage is extracted from the reply maje by Bishop Moran, of Dunedin to the address presented to him on the occasion of his silver jubilee : — On this occasion I may mention one oilier great source of consolation and thankfulness, and I do so the more readily as it will, I know, be to you ii'so a lource of satisfaction and joy— there is no,

Diocesan debt: and as regards this parish, with which jou are more intimately concerned, although more than thirty thousand pounds sterling have within the last ten years been expended on church and school buildings and institutions in and immpdiately around Dunedin, independently of their an nal maintenance, there is not one shilling due on them, The foundation of progress ia now, I trust, solidly laid, and it only re-* mains for us to labor with the same faith generosity, and peMeveranee a3 hitherto in order to raise a superstructure worthy of such beginning." There are a good many ministers of other denominations who wish they could say the same of their churches.

Messrs Blackwood promise ' At Home in Fiji,' by Miss C. F. Gordon Cumming, who is already known by a book of travel, ' From the Herbrides to the Himalayas.' On the present occasion, the Academy say, ' Miss Gordon Cumming has made the tour round the world, but her forthcoming work will limit itself to Fiji, where she was a guest at Government House with the family of Sir Arthur Gordon ; and the home-life there, with accounts of the new colony, will be given, as well as the position of planters, the character of the natives, their customs, .. dancea, in^iifJa^ij^gg^Hiyj— gora^g^^ their unique pottery. """"Miss 'Gordon Cumming brought home a large' number of sketches, which are are at present exhibiting in Edinburgh. The Press suggests the following remedy for putting a stop to the loquacity indulged in by several members of the House—" That the time bas arrived for the adoption of some means of putting an end to the stupid, purposeless, waste of public money so much in favour with a certain class of orators, is a question worthy of discussion. It certainly does seem to us highly desirable that it Bbould be in the power ofthe House to save itself from such inflictions. Whether it would be prudent to give to any Speaker in a Colonial Chamber the extensive powers with which the Bouse of Commons has armed t heir Speaker is another matter. Other, safer, and more effective methods might perhaps be adopted. The honorarium of private mem** bere, for example, might be regulated by the brevity of their utterances. Beyond a fixed limit, it might be provided that every hour of talk should represent a proportionate deduction from tho pay ofthe speaker. Such a rule would be infinitely more effective tban the o'oture. It would touch the patriotic Liberals of the House- on thpir tenderest point. If every hour's obstruction meant a proportionate reduction in pay, their zeal for the dcspath of public business would become perfectly marvellous. Hansard would shrink into modest proportions, and the effective ! wo^k done would proportionately increase. Will any honourable member have the courage to adopt our suggestion, put it and into practical shape ?'