THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 1881.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, 24 June 1881, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 1881.

At the late election a number of voting papers had .to be declared informal in consequence of the Christian name only of one or other of the candidates being erased. Instances occurred where . the words "Thomas Sbiifer" and "George Gerald," only were pencilled, the surnames remaining untouched. For ignorance or carelessness or whatever it may be of this kind there is, of course, no ex* cuse. but the question arises as to whether it would not be advisable to omit the Christian names of candidates from the voting space on the ballot paper, and thereby lessen the risk of mistakes of this kjnd. The names of the candidates might be given in full'in the body of the paper, and this it seems to us would meet all the requirements of the case, lc seems a pity that a dozen or so of eleo tors should be diefranohised.even though it be through their own stupidity. We com* mend the suggestion for what it may be considered worth to the notice of the Returning Officer.

The new Licensing Bill is being terribly hacked up by the Good . Templar element in the House, and Sir William Fox appears to be moulding the measure in Committee almost wholly to his own lik* ing. At Tuesday's sitting clause 40 (requirements of houses outside of boroughs) was altered so«s to apply only to houses on cricket grounds or other places of amusement, On clause 46, Fox moved to strike out the words ' limiting the application of local option to new licenses,' so as to render it applicable to all licenses. Saunder3 opposed the amendment as jeopardising the valuable results already obtained by making licensing benches elec« tive. If the licenses were taken away by an elected bench, no claim for compensation could arise; but if taken away by direct action, such a claim could not be resisted; he tbou«'itthe Templar party should take what they could get, and what was jurt. instead of jeopardising the whole Bill. The amendment was negatived en the voces. On clause 31 (bottle licenses), Stvanson moved that the clause be struck out. Mr Dick said that he would consent to the clanse being struck out, and it was struck out accordingly, n clause S3 (billiard table licenses), Dick said be would yield to the evident wish of members and consent to the cause being struck out, On clause 35 (wholesale licenses) passed as printed.

An agitation has been set on foot in the Grey Valley with the object of having the Chairman of the Grey County Council elected by the ratepayers, instead of by the Council. The predictions of a severe winter in the Inangahua have bo far not been fulfilled. The shortest day is now passed, and we have up to the present time escaped anything ap* proaching to bad weather as such is known on the West Coast, Even, the highest ranges are and have been for some timo almost wholly free from snow, and the mildness of the atmosphere is such that fruiting shrubß are already showing symptoms of bursting into blossom. The occurrence of two eclipses of tbo moon and the advent of two comets, all within the space of six months, might be expected to exert some extraordinary meteorological influence. We understand that the extensive mineral leases recently applied for in the upper Ina n g'ibua Valley were made with the view

of prospecting for tin ore, some splendid samples of which were obtained in the locality in the year 1874, by Mr Theodore Ranft, Mr P. Q. Caple?, and the late Mr Frank Mathias. The latter gentleman, being po strongly impros«ed with the indica- : tions he met with of the existence of the ore that he visited Tasmania with the .especial design of inspecting the ,tin mines there, and gaining some practical knowledge of the disposition and occurrence of the ore, «nd the ' art of tracing its indications. Upon his return to Beefton, although it was In the depth of winter, Mr Maihias started alone on a six weelis' prospecting expedition to the upper Inangnhiin, but the heavy enowfa'l of that year quite defeated his purpose, anl a'ter being imprisoned for a fortnight in the ranges, he returned to town, and failing health unfortunately prevented him from ever again facing the hardship which the search involveJ. From all this it may be gatheied that a great field for enterprise and capital is open in the upper Iningahaa, and which time will assuredly develop . Mr John Dick announces that he has opened a pie and coffeo establishment in the premises opposite the Bank of New Zealand, and will continence to buke bread on Mon» day next. The recent elecfionjbrought to light a vast number of inaccuracies in the roll for the Inangahua, such as in tbe spelling of names, the transposition of Christian names, and such like. Electors concerned should take steps to have the necessary corrections made. The election also showed tha£sorae hundreds of persons throughout the district were without a vote, Jhrough failure to send in the required application. In view of the prox* unity of the general elections stepa^should'be at once taken by everyj iront«elector in the district to have his name enrolled. Some years since the Keep-it-Dark Company discovered an out-crop of reef on the flat, within the company's lease. A shaft was sunk and some stone taken therefrom, but no further test was made at the time, a 9 the chief attention was then being directed foothei^ parts of the mine. The stone which has been allowed to remain untried until now has been brought to the company's mill, and is being crushed. Should it prove payable, a vast extent of reef will be available for fu - ture operations. It is intended .to Bhortly give a concert , and entertainment in aid of the funds of the Reefton Hospital. It is so long now since the public had an "opportunity of witnessing any form of public amusement, that the projected amateur performance would no doubt draw a large attendance. , It is notified that Mr Gilbert, dentist, will visit Beefton on the 28th instant. Mr Joseph Kilgour is making good progress with his new industry, the Black's Point Foundry. The first work to be started with will be the casting of stamper shoes and slippers, and in the course of a little time the foundry will be prepared to turn out every description of casting required in the field. Wp wish the industry every success. At tbe $promencf>ment' of last month two German women, Frau Sohmidt and Feustel, living at Zeitz, in Prussian Saxony, in addition to living in the same house and on the same floor, were each, on the same day. delivered of three children, and they were all boys. Probably such a singular coincidence rnever before occurred.— Truth. In the course of a speech larely made to the boys of the Toowoo.-nbos (Queensland) Grammar Schools nnd their parents and friends, Sir Arthur Kennedy said ,:— Life i 9 a great battle ; it is a great scramble in our own country at Home, and very Boon it will be as much so here for all you boys. Above all. let me impress on you to keep clear of all Government billets. A boy who will go in aud give up his lifetime to sit on an office stool for £100 a year is, to my mind, a great muff. There is plenty of room in this country for boys to exercise their energies without going into the principal towns, and loafing about etreet«corners. Let them go into the country instead. There is plenty of room for them in the colony, which is of great ex--tent. I advise you to go in for gymnastic exercise ;it it very useful. I went in for it, and it taught me very useful lessons. It taught me, first of all, that one must be temperate, steady, and persevering. A boy who is intemperate or unsteady in life will never excel in any gymnastics, aud you may lay down as a rule that there is no boy who cannot always excel in some degree. The latest from California is a most remarkable discovery, on the part of a Mr S. H. Kennedy, that sheep may be protected from scab by ' vaccination.' Messrs Batkin and Seed are said to have reported in favour of £10,000 reductions in the judicial department, chiefly by making J.P'e do R.M's work. £1,000 a week is the income of the Irish Land League. The ladies of Melbourne are organising a whisky wa»\ A house and ground at Flemington and a £500 life policy is all that Mr Bagot, late seeretavy to the Victoria Jockey Club, has left his son. A private detective, named Alfred Bishop has been committed for trial for stealing a sovereign from a woman of ill-fame in Melbourne. Snyder Brown, after a thirty-six years' spell at journalism, retires in comfortable circumstances. Lucky Snyder! the great majority of his brethern die in harness or in a ditch. The old trumpeter has been on a visit to Auckland, and we are glad to say looks good enough for another tbirtyssix years, which we hope he may enjoy smoking the pipe of peace under his own vine and fig-tree. An old man rapidly acquired £6000 worth of property at M'Gregor, lowa. Freeling that he would soon die, he wrote letters to his relatives in the East, soliciting aid to carry him through a hard winter. The only response was from a nioce, who sent him £10 out of her earnings as a school teacher, and to her he left his entire estate. According- to tho Timaru Herald a perfect public mau, if there could be such a thing,

would be a combination of Mr Hall's honesty industry, and practical ability, with Sir George Grey'# eloquence, intrepidity, and irrepressible pertinacity. The enormous influx of Chinese into the Hawaiian Islands which has been going on for the past two years and which still continues with no apparent sign of cessation, is looked upon with alarm by the white resi' dents of the glands, and the greatest public indignation is expressed by them at the rapid increase in the number of Chinese in the kingdom, who threaten to overun the island before long: According to recently complied statistics, it has been ascertained that sthjero are more Chinamen in the Kingdom than there are of adult males of all other nationalities put together. According to an Invercargill contemporary^ the saw milling industry has brought to Southland a steady influx of ready cash circulated by at least 1,000 men who are regularly employed in the work, to say nothing of tbose to whom the business indirectly gives support, the farmer, who furnishes supplies and local tradesmen. < After a most exhaustive inquiry into the resources and capabilities of the country which the Ofago Central Railway line|is interded to pass, the Commissioners unhesitatingly pronounce in favour of its k i:nmediate construe-. tion. The schooner Good Templar has returned from the scene of the Tararua wreck. A Tery heavy sea prevailed all the time she was there, and she had her boats washed away. A diver went down tbree times, but was unsuccessful in doing anything. The captain states that he passed right over the wreck, which is in three different parts, and from soundings taken he found from three to four fathoms of weter all round her. The engines are still standing, but the sea is very dangerous and prevents anything like work being done. James Cosfello has caused writs, in the Supreme Court, Kelson, to be issued against thirty claimholders at Croninville, claming from them £500 damages became that thn water in the Totara River ha? been mode by them foul for his cattle to drink, and that it is unfittel for domestic purposes ; Costello also claims £52 10s for costs in res* pect of service of writ—the writ must be answered within twenty-eight days from date of service. Expense has not been considered by plaintiff as from" one of; the writs of summons We notice that the plaint has been specially printed and that an elaborate tracing of Costello's land accompanies each one. A public meeting to consider the matter is called for. ; The comet (says the Poet) continues to be a very noticeable object in the sky, both in the evening and in the early morning. It is best seen about 6 p.m. and shortly before sunrise. Some people have imagined thut the comet visible in the morning is not the same as that seen in the evening, because the former appears much more brilliant and the tail extended in a different direction. This, however, is easily explained, the greater apt parent brightness in tlfe morning being due to the absence of moonlight and gaslight and to the increased. clearness of the early morning atmosphere, while the change of relative positions would account for '^tho altered appearance of the tail. The Timaru Herald aays :—' If we desired evil to any enemy to take the shape of rendering nugatory his intellectual attains mpts, and of destroying his ordinary com mon sense, we should place him in a Government office. Ere a few years bad passed under the cold, passionless, life to be found in de« partmental bureaus, brought about by the steady, unswerving system of routine and of red tape, and of that nowhere-to-be*fixed re« sponsibility which in itself is t>o charming a feature in officialdom, we should find our sweetest revenge more than gratified ; the intellectual attainments of our quondam foe would be brought to one dead level of no high order, and his common sensp, from want of exercise, if not entirely deserting him, would be found to be practically valueless for the ordinary business of life.' The Wellington Post says .— ' It is stated that a well known auctioneer has threatened to bring an action for £5000 damages for slander against an equally well known contractor, unless the latter chooses to apologise and pay £100 to some local charity* The alleged slander consists in a statement that the auctioneer would not return to the colony (he being absent from New Zealand at the time). ___, «^____^_