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Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue II, 28 September 1881, Page 2

Madame Wilmot gave her farewell lecture in Dawson's Hall on Monday evening. The attendance was not large, but the lectures* was listened to with close attention, and fre- ■ quently applauded. Madame Wilmot left for Greymouth this morning. Au alarm of fire was sounded at 10 o'clock yesterday morning, when smoke was seen issuing from the rear of Mr Wises' office. On entering it waa found that the no-im and paperirg over the mantle-piece was an fire, but assistance being at hand the fire was quickly extinguished. The fire had not long been lighted in the fire place, and Mr J. Grieve, Mr Wises* clerk, was sitting writing at a table, and feeling his back getting very warm, he turned round and saw that a piece of wood projecting frotu the fire-place bad communicated the fire to the scrim. He at once placed a cushion on tbe fire, and gave the alnrm, when assistance arrived, and the fire was put out. Mr Grieve had bis hands severely burnt in his efforts to extinguish the fire, otherwise no serious injury was done. At the meeting of the committee held on Saturday evening last, Mr W. H. Hobby bore the following testimony to the benefjit conferred upon Stawell by diamond drill discoveries. He says:— " The unlimited benefit that will eventually result to mining companies, storekeepers, and all business people, as well as working men, in a similar way that it did in Stawell, will be felt by all this community. Previous to the introduction of tha drill in Strwell and other places employment was perfectly dormant ; business people had their shppa full of goods, but could not sell tbem ; crushing mills were only partially engaged, and the streets wore a very hungry and disappointed aspect. Other districts were without value or notice but soon became tbe scene of labor and enterprise, the diamond drill having brought to light its valuable discoveries at once generated a feeling of anxiety by qtbej*. companies, and such was the faith and confidence in the adaptability of the machinery for the important work it was designed to perform that the demand for its use was pressed by six or seven companies at once, and frequent meet* ings of tbe delegates of the associations were necessitated so, as to regulate the u?e of tbe drills. After the discoveries were made con« fidence returned to the districts, money poured ir, employment become abundant and tbe business people who were among the

first to assist in subscribing towards the diamond drill now reap a fruitful harvest. According as the drill made other important discoveries (some with, and some without gold, but always quartz), the mining stock began to show signs of improvement, and almost simultaneously ran up to its present value, which it still holds. In Victoria there are no rivers carrying a mass of shinglp gr gravel thickly mixed with fine gold, nor is theje such a thing as gpld on the sea beach, washed down jfrom the reefs in the moans tains. There, reefs.are nqt so numerous as they are here, and there are fewer of them gold-bearing. In short this district and many other parts of New Zealand bear much stronge; jndjeaftong pf gold than any other country in the world, and when we know that it is here, and only wants bringing to light, and that we can find it by the aid of the diamond drill, it Ms obviously tbe interest of every person to aid such a movement." Mr Hobby's remarks are worthy of earnest attention, and ought to act as a strong incentive in the formation of the Diamond Drill Cpmpany. The fire brigade concert last night was well attended, aud a very enjoyable evening was spent. Madamo Wilmot gave a spiritualistic seance in Dawson's Hall pn Monday nigbt, after the conclusion of her lecture. The affair was of a Bemjjriyate nature, sit, gen« an ordinary one, and round this the visitors and Madame Wilmot sat, their hands being laid upon the surface. After sitting in this position for some time, a young man present declared that he felt an unusual sensation in bis arms and shoulders. Another of the company also declared to a similar manifestation, but beyond this there was nothing in the seance to excite or entertain. There was a great dearth of spirits and at this there was some disappointment, but it is irrational to expect disembodied spirits to keep their engagements with such nicety. Mr D. P. Anderson, as the representative of a Nelson company, yesterday lodged at tbe Warden's office two applications for mining leases of land in the vicinity of Lankey Creek. We are informed that it is the intention of the lessees to commence active operations, and we are therefore glad to welcome tbe new blood to, the field. It will be seen by our telegrams tbat Mr Weston has again set the railway agitation in motion in Christchurch, thus affording a further proof of his earnestness in the matter. Oar attention has been called to a vulgarly written paragraph which appeared in the Inangahua Herald yesterday in reference to a correction we made in our last issue. So far as regards the paragraph to which we referred, it appeared in all the West Coast papers precisely as we stated, and cited the Inangahua Herald as the authority. We do coto bject $ bat absurdities however great should be attributed to (hat paper, because it is a fitting method of complimenting the genius who directs it, but when the district is made to share in the ridicule, it is time to protest. However, petulance in senility is at all times excusable, but wnthfigl senility becomes picturesque. The fortunate inventor of ' Zoedene,' tbe new aerated effervescing drink, which is already becoming a favorite in these colonies, has just sold his patent to a company for £12,000, reserving to himself the right of manufacture. It is probable that this enterprising Welshman will clear at least £20,000 by his invention— no bad return for one of the simplest things over devised The divers at work on the remains of tho Doterel. have recovered four bodies. They were at tbe end of May engaged getting out the 64 pounder guns., beneath which, and the chains, anchors, &c, all in a confused mass the bodies were to be seen lying in all attitudes. Lieutenant Oreigh's corpse was found in a sitting posture with bis haftd leaning on his hand, as if he were reading when the accident happened. He was drowned, and not injured in any way. 'Some of the corpses' writes a correspondent on the spot • were parboiled. One boiler hag been found uninjured, but another is not to be found. It is surmissed that the ship was short of water, and when the donkey-engine pumped in the salt wnter, the boiler burst.' Tbe Graphic states tbat tbe whole of the teaching staff of an Episcopal Sunday School in England resigned their offices, in consequence of the rector and curate of the parish demanding of them to sign a document setting forth tbat it was a sin against God to enter a dissenting chapel. A document in cipher and plan are now at Durban, and they are being studied by experts. It is said that they re'ate to. the £50,000 box of treasure, buried near the wreck of the Grosvenor, Indiaman, eighty yeais ago. The paper bears a diagram, with letters and numerals, and is believed to be authentic. ' Now, John, did you ever see a saw ? ', • Yes sir, I've saw a saw ' What saw was it you saw John. It was a see-saw, sir. ' A see saucer ? ' 1 mean a see-saw, sir, I didn't see the sea ; I saw the saw Bir,' But if )ou only saw the saw, how saw you the saucer. ' Why, sir, I never sow the saucer ; 1 saw the see-rsaw, sir— see? 'Well, my boy, if that's the way you see-saws, the less saws you see the better. You may take your seat. To prevent men employed on contracts being defrauded of their wage?, the Governs ments of some of the Australian Colonies have enacted that contractors shall be held liable for wages due by sub-contractors. In reply to a question whether the Ministry proposed, extending 'a similar protection to laborers in New Zealand the Premier bas intimated that the Government has no intention of moving in the matter. A contemporary calculates tr- at after tbe five Sundays in last February, •we will have to wait until 1920 for the same concurrence-' All right — we will wa»t. There has been a discovery of payable gold in the alluvial soil on the banks of Danube, about seventy miles below Pesth. The Brining Commission of Hungary bave rp-

ported that the gold is to be found in quantities, well worth the labor of searching for it. This being the case in such a washedout part of Europe, is a sufficient answer to the pessimists who look for a continued declension of the mining industry in Austria. The Auckland Star gives the following pen and ink sketch of tbe senior member of the Grey Valley :-s.Mr Reeves better know as (Dick Reeves) is an auctioneer, and cannot cast aside the mannerism of tbe knight of the hammer. He has much fluency of speech, but aU unpleasant mumbling tone. He says hard things in coarse language, but never losses his temper. A colossus iv height his stentorian voice seems to pour down upon his smaller bretbern as if it would wash them out of the Chamber. He is fond of using such expressions as 'choked off." you bet,' • wont wash,' ' one horse concern ' and other specimens of American slang. While speak - ing, his eyes are constantly wandering around tbe room and bis arms are waved about like the eails of a windmill and you fancy he is about to say ' Ten shillings advance, Sir : Thank you. Any other offer gontleman.' Bilk first came from China, and the Chinese still have many important secrets connected with it unknown to Europeans. In a good year they send as much as £5,000,000 worth of raw material to England alone. The ' hanks/ or books, as they are called, arrive with caps made of a single cocoon. This is done by a process in Europe. A Wanganui paper says that a strange phenomenon was witnessed at sea during the late gale in Cook Strait. Many thousand of dead birds darkened tbe water in great patches, as if killed inflight by some mighty rush of wind: They are commonly known as ice-bergs, being denizens of tbe Islands within the cold southern zone. Tbe extent of slaughter was remarkable to mariners accustomed <o these waters. The Chairman of the Goldfields brought up a report on the petition of James By ras and others. This was a complicated case in which the petitioners prayed for ground granted them as a prospecting claim at Mount Arthur, Collingwood, part of which was subsequently granted in lease to Arkell, Parrker and Co. The Committee after hear . ing the evidence of petitioners, Parker, and Warden Campbell, were of opinion that the petitioners bad established their claim, and recommended that their certificates Bhould be upheld, and, that Government take tbe necessary steps so to do. The report was referred to tbe Government. The value of diamond drills is daily becoming more appreciated in Victoria. Seven applications were sent to the Minister for Mines in one day recently, one for coal boring, the remainder for quartz and alluvial boring, It is represented that tbo discovery of the Smeaton and Kingston goldfields are due to the diamond drill. The Minister intimated his intention of having four additional drills made. Several important alterations have been made in - the Licensing Bill in the Upper House. Instead of all existing licensing diss tricts being abolished on the coming into operation of Aot, new districts are to be de* fined and proclaimed from time to time, and until such proclamation the existing districts remain under the old laws. An addition is made to the clause describing those who are disqualified to act as members of a licensing committee by the insertion of words ' who has within four years been bankrupt or insolvent and who has paid a less dividend than 10s in the pound upon his debts.' Another important alteration is tbat the Council bave struck not tbe club licenses and the New Zealand wine licenses altogether, and tbe bottle license clause, and limited the license to particular districts.