THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10.1881.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, 10 August 1881, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10. 1881.

The numerous rumours respecting the Soiuli African diamond f=nd pol^flVkis. which iiave been industriously circulated all around the colonies lately Lave also reached (his district, causing considerable uneasiness in the minds of some of those advent urdus spirits, who are always ready to tnkp nliirm, whenever the tocsin is snr derl for n rush. The facilities for mi-king a commotion in a mining communi'y is well known, and the readiness, with which favorable accounts from any for away field «re implicitly ewnllowed, bas become quite proverbial. The ex citement is, not infrfqnently, wrnugM up to a high pitch on very doubtful evidence. It is not necessary that any authentic information should -be at ban I. The mere men»ion of a letter, reported to hive been received by someone from Hie new "Dor.ido," ha? often been the cause of a foolish stampede, and many a miner has, before now, broken camp and left a res* fionable certainty for tlte remofe con* tingencies of ddubful chances elsewhere. That this in very many .cases results in discomfiture is rot to be wondered at. What else could be expected, when time is not taken to consider tbe probabilities of (he issue, nor yet fair comparisons* made of the relative merits of tbe field left and tbe field sought, Tbe majority of the miners in the district are men thoroughly conversant with tbe nature of the work in a reefing district, and it would be a matter of great regret should any of them leave steady and remuneralive employment for a mere problematical cbnnce in Africa, whereby tbei'r services, at least for a time, would be lost to tbe district. It is certainly true that during tbe last ten or twelve years some good accounts have, now and again, been received from tbe Cape Colony and adjoining States, and a number of miners both from tbe Australian Colonies and New Zealand, bare from time to time gone over to see for themselves, tbe m prty of whom, however, bare returned, pre» ferring a wider range for their energy to the limited extent of gold and diamond fields in Africa. Among those who remained a few have no doubt done well, and we hear all about their success, but we bear nothing about the many failures. In tbe early days of the diamond fields, those who were fortunate enough to secure claims have been more or less successful. Tbe same can be said of merchants, dealers, brokers, and trades'* men, but as for tbe mere miner without capital, be is completely lost at this date where Kaffir labour is cheap and abun« dant. The field is circumscribed within very narrow limits, and the same claims are yet being wrought, which were taken up at the first of tbe discovery some twelve years ago. It would require a vast amount of capital to purchase an in« terest in the productive mines far beyond the means of the average miner, and the following statement made by S. W: Silver and Co. in their " Handbook to South Africa" is fully borne out by those who have visited the fields :— " Dia<* mond-digtfing bas now become a settled industry, but an industry entirely in the hands of claimholders. Emigrants to the Cape are warned that the day for making fortunes on the fields, at least by digging, is past. Dealers and tr 1 ders may still be fortunate, but there is not a business that 'prentice bands can touch." After having carefully scanned the leading Home papers, where nothing whatever beyond 1 tho usual appears respecting the subject, ! and after having made careful inquiries into tbe whole matter, we have come to the conclusion tbe above mentioned opinion can be quoted again in an unaltered form, and that not the slightest additional cause or reason exists at present for the spasmodic " rush oh " feeline, which has been excited than what has been obtained for years. The country under notice has, no doubt, in common with other British Colonies, made satisfactory progress, and will pro* bable continue to advance — with an occasional check now and again — but it is difficult to imagine why it should just now be brongbt under greater notice than formerly. No new discoveries of fresh fields have been reported,' nor yet any larger finds ma tip in tbe ol<J workings, so that really there is nothing before us to warrant the extravagant big talk which is now being indulged in.

week into rain, tleot, and snow. The fall o( the latter has only been very slight in Reefton, but the higher elevations in the diatrict are reported snow covered. At the i*-j-ix hill on Saturday, it had" lodged and remained on the ground frota eight to twelve feotthiik. Mr W. J. Polts accidentally sustained a fracture of the small boie of tho right leg ou Wednesday evening last, and baa since been confined to bed. It is expected, however, that he will be übl" to get about with the aid of a walking slick in ten dajs time. We have received two letters from residents in tho neighborhood of the Inangahua Juticlion, referring to the Licensing Bench and Mr Keuben Waite. The question alluded to by our correspondents is not of sufficient general public* interest to warrant us in giving the communications publicity. If the inhabitants of the Inangahua Junction ha>e any well- founded grieviinoe either against Mr Waite or his house, their proper course is to address a short petition to the Licensing Bench, when we have no doubt it will be fairly and impartially considered From the neighbourly and benevolent tone of the letters in question, we should think that the Inangahua Junction offers a splendid field for missionary labor. , S n me visitors to the Reading Room allow theii dogs to follow them in, and on Saturday one of the canine species followed his nvister to the emporium of literature, and there went to sleep. On awakpning,""ffie~ animal found that his master had left, and not Bfeing any way of egress, but through a Venetian door, the faithful and sagacious creature performed an acrobatic feat by jumping through a pane of glass, which caused such a crash as to attract the attention of the Librarian who forthwith demanded to know who the delinquent belonged to, but no person would acknowledge the ownership of the true and faithful friend that had risked life to reach his master. At Waikouati on the sth instant, a girl named Afleck was literally roasted to death through her clothes catching fire, A largely attended meeting was held on Friday night last at Timaru, to discuss the question of forming a Woollen Factory Company in Timaru. An influential committee was appointed to report on the whole matter at an early date. All shipping work of the port at Timaru is now done from under shelter of the break* water. At the inquest held at Ashburton, on the body of Mrs Ruddock, who was found drowned in a waterhole, the jury returned a verdict of " suicide, while temporarily im sane. At Dunedin on Saturday, the police discovered fifty packages of spurious teas, ex Rirignrooina, in bond. Professor Black reports that they contain deleterious substances, and proceedings will be taken against consignees on Monday, Bth instant. Government are opening up by survey 50,000 acres of fine land in' the Kaihu Valley, Kaipara district, North Island. Tawhaio. through the Chief Paul, has expressed regret that he could rot visit Auck« land at the present time, owing to his having promised bis people to go back from Mercer. He will visit Auckland and Kaipara district shortly, and he gave Paul a handsome kiwi met as a pledge of his promise to do so. The last Gazette contains a return of the Postal revenue for the quarter ended June 30th 1881. The total amounts to £34,639 as against £34,541 for the corresponding period last year. In England there are 37,641 persons licensed to sell beer. The Contra Costar Gazette says that Mr Charles D'ckinson, who is successfully engaged in carp raising, has a pond area of about four acres, enabling him to furnish 20,000 market and stock fish per year — which means about 5000 lols from four acres of water. The total number of vessels despatched from Lyttelton, wool and grain laden, for the nine months ended August 1, was 60 of 59,086 tonnage ; of wool, there were 38949 bales and 594 packets; of wheat, 537,085 bushels.. The first number of a new journal called 1 The School master ' was issued at Napier recently. It is 20 pages foolscap. While Sydney is troubled wilh the smallpox epidemic, and the Thames with the ccarlet fever epidemic, we in New Plymouth apppar to have a libel epidemic, The Herald has been served with a writ for an action for libel, the plaintiff claiming £200 damages. Our contemporary the News likewise has been favored with a missive intimating that an action will be commenced against it-* damages £500- -the libel complained of having: reference to some remarks respecting the payment of the freight for landing the harbor plant. Messrs. Standish and Hughes are the solicitors in each case. We do hear of another libel case being threatened against our contemporary owing to :ome unkind remarks made by it respecting Mr Lamb's donkey. Mr Lamb says he does not so much care what they say about him, but no one has a right to insult his ' donkey.'— Taranaki Herald. Titokawaru, the Maori, is suffering very much from asthma. The Government have advanced the Thames local bodies £3000 towards repairing the damage oausecl by the late flood. Fancy constructing a railway for £1090 per mile — less than the the cost of a macadamised road. Yefc that, remarks tbe Sydney Mails is the amount per mile of a tender for thirty.two miles of a railway in Queensland. We want some of these Queensland contractors in New Zealand. Joseph Solomon. Dunedin, has had to pay £125 damages for a breach of promise of marriage towards a daughter of Martin Simonsen, of tho opera Company. Heat is so intense in North America that 550 deaths from sunstroke have occurred. The July heat in England was almost tropical. From a return recently printed it appears that eince the session of 188.0 nearly 45Q

Government officials bare eiihcr retired, their services have been dispensed, or have been dismissed ; twenty have been put on half pay '• the places of sixteen who have died liave not been filled up ; and are merely hold* ing office temporarily. A walking match in London for the championship, of the world waa virtually ended by Weston's sickness. An offer has been made to b*ck Rowell, Weston's opponent, azairst any man in the world for 10,000 dollars. A young composer has just written for a soprano voice a beautiful song entitled ' Would that I were young again ! ' It has been bo much time wasted. The woman can't be found who will sing it. A Victorian digger now in Dunedin has in his possession a diamond from a fi.'ld in South Africa, of whiuh he is the owner, said to be worth £60,000. Messrs Farmer and Co. pay the Sydney Morning Herald £30 per week for one column in the first page of the paper. The owners of other Sydney establishments grumble at this column being reserved at this figure. The first prize in Cameron's Derby sweep went to St. Bathan's tbe second to Waimate, and the third to Wellington. Three nonstarters came to the Lead, viz., 204. The Chief (ticket No. 3686, 210 Strathleven (No. 2433), and 120 Confidence (2855 or 2895— the>'e is some d&ubt which). The sweep was rirownrfgr. ffiffiffit The Hon. Mr Waterhouse has given notice to move — 'That considering the greatly increased powers which of late years have been conferred on district judges and resident magistrates, and that they have frequently to adjudicate between the Government and the public, it is desirable they should be placed in a position of greater independence ; and that an address be sent to the Governor enclosing this resolution.' Concerning a recent visitor to the Colony, an American; journal writes :**»Mrs Proctor was ill, and so Mr Proctor, her astronomical husband, took her to Australia. Mr Cruwley, of St. Joseph, Missouri, was an invalid, and accompanied by his wife, went also to Australia for his health. Both invalids failed to find it there, and soon after their arrival went elsewhere in searoh of it. Mr Proctor and Mrs Crowley came back to San Francisco on the same steamer. The wedding took place at St. Joseph shortly tfter. The City Council of Melbourne have adopted a resolution in favor of tramways for that city, and at a late conference of the city and suburban councils it was unanimously agreed that tramways should permeate the city, extending to all the suburbs. Property in Manchester«street Christchurch has been sold at £88 per foot. At a pound eale at Wanganui the other day a cow waa sold for ss, The Good: Templars of Christchurrii, under tbe leadership of their District Executive, are going to try their political strength at the next general election. They number three hundred and fifty, a sufficient number to decide a contested election. A paper-mill company has been started at Temuka, that town being possessed of many natural advantages favorable to the making of paper, foremost among which were :— (I) Good pure water, and plenty of it ; (2) cheap straw j (3) convenience of a railway, and a port within twelve miles ; (4) abundance of labor. At a meeting* called for the purpose, it was resolved — • That a company be formed, to be called tbe New Zealand Paper Mill Company, with a capital of £25,000 in*£l shares." A large number of shares were taken up in the room, and the application calls paid. A most singular occurrence was brought to the knowledgo of the Auckland Herald lately :— ' A lady residing in one of our suburbs drove in her carriage, and before leaving, fresh candles were placed in the lamps. During the drive to town one of the lamps was especially exposed to tbe sun, and the lady noticed that the wick of the candle which was in tbe focus of tbe sun's rays was smoking. On alighting and opening ' the lamp Bhe found that it had sprung into flame — the sun bad condescended to light tbe candle.' i A oopy of Dr Buller's * Birds of New Zealand ' was sold in London the other day for £20. Tbe cost to the public purse alone of a general election in Victoria ranges from £14,000 to £20,000. I learn on good authority that Mr Kohler the accomplished musician and enterprising waxworks exhibitor, contemplates bringing an action against, the Union 3.5. Co. for damage done to his figures on the passage from Wellington to Dunedin in one of the Company's boats. It appears that Queen Victoria's orown got smashed, and Ned Kelly's nose was put out of joint by the rough treatment to which Her Majesty and the Mansfield desperado were subjected on the trip in question. , An object of considerable attraction to viuitors at Woolwich Arsenal just now is the collection of projectiles for the 80 ton guns of the ironclad inflexible. Altogether about 300 projectiles for the great guns are to be seen, besides a quantity of canister, each of which contains some thousands of bullets to b 8 scattered in a close encounter. The weight of each shell for the 80 ton guns is 17001b5., or upwards of threequarters of a ton. There are no solid shot, whioh now seem scarcely to find a place in the science of modern artillery. Law is not tbe only thing in Ibe decision of which tbere is a • glorious uncertainty." Though reckoned by the uninitiated like one of tbe exaot scienoes, surviving is equally as bad. Eepeated instances of this have cropped up of late, but none pointed so strongly to that conclusion as the facts brought out iv a ease before the District Court as to the right* ful ownership of a atrip of land in Invercargill Hundred. From the evidence, it would appear that each of the two litigautshad got his acreage, but there was something over and this tbe Court thought should belong to the Crown. Council was quite willing to give that up if the Survey Department would defiuo it, but this could not be cbne. After

lengthy consideration tbe Court came to tbe conclusion that 'the Crown grants were wrong, the maps were wrong ; everything w«« wrong, 1 and how he was to set it right he did not see. Ultimately the litigants u^ged him to give a decision so as to save both further expense, and so one was given very much in accord with that suggested— tho * give and take ' principle.