THE The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1882.

Inangahua Times, Volume VII, Issue 1047, 10 February 1882, Page 2

THE The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1882.

Mr James Connolly, the proprietor of the property known as the Durham coal mine, has commenced some extensive works with the view of thoroughly opening up the pit, and facilitating the carriage of the coal to Reefton. > It will be recolLected that the .coal seajjn caught fire near the surfaced some twelve or eighteen >inontlifl^^ain^v^a|t^iQi/been ? bufe«, put in a tuiml^Bi^'as tS^wroil-cut tne seam some 1 distance ahead of the fire, and thus prevent its further extension. The coal is of splendid quality for household purposes, having been pronounced superior to the Brunner coal for that purpose, and under the arrangements now in hand it will be delivered in town at a great reduction per ton upon the charges at present current. The dray road to connect the pit with the town will be ready for traffic in a month or six weeks tune. A special meeting of shareholders in the Balaklava Quartz Mining Company was held at the office of Mr Wise on Wednesday evening, Mr E. Ashton in the chair. From the report .of the manager it appeared that only one director, viz., Mr Heaphy, retained a seat in the Board. The vacancies were filled up by the election of Messrs M. Levy, E. Ashton, M. Walker, and H. Evans. Messrs Ashton and Evans were deputed to visit and inspect the mine with a view to report as to the best means for resuming operations. An offer having been received from the Rainy Creek Co. for the use of their mill, it is probable that a trial crushing will be taken out shortly. From Melbourne papers per last mail we are pleased to learn that a Reefton youth, John Adam Campbell, son of- Mr AngUß Campbell of the Southern Cross Hotel, has passed matriculation examination at the Melbourne University for the past term. • Since the Ist November last about two hundred and thirty quartz, cement, and coal mining leases respectively have been applied for in the Inangahua. This roughly means an area of close upon 4,000 acres, and the cash deposits paid in respect thereto, amount roughly to about £5,000, and the rent per annum to nearly £3,500. These figures will convey some idea of the business done through the Warden's Office at Reefton during the past quarter. Mr James Stevenson will submit to public auction to-morrow at 2 o'clock sharp, at his office, Broadway, four leasehold sections of agricultural land known as Finlay's paddock. The land is of exexcellent quality, and 170 acres . or thereabouts are laid down in English grass, the whole forming a nice farm, and ready for immediate cropping. y The formation of the Rainy Creek property into a limited company, .and the resolve of the directors to thoroughly open up the mine and start crushing, has roused all^ the adjoining leaseholders to activity, and there is at length a fair prospect of that much neglected part of the field receiving a fair trial. The Jukerman and Balaklava Companies are up and doing, the latter having engaged to have a crushing of 300 tons at the Bainy Creek battery. The Happy Val- ! Icy Company situated further over on the Memjig side are said to show splendid prospects, the reef being of great sine and easily broken down. This company will no doubt take an early opportunity of arranging for a trial crushing, so that there is ample work ahead for the battery. At a recent meeting held in Hokitika, the following sensible remarks were made : —Mr Richardson Rae said he felt sure that he neec^ot^remind the Good Templar candida|es |nat they, as well as tKe liew Bill,, wbuld' be ( ,ou their .trial before the public. He knew they would reBolve, if elected, to act within reason and moderation. No great reform of any kind had ever been accomplished by violent jerks, and rash measures. The Licensing Bill gave the Committee enormous powers, and let the advocates of temperance set an example in using those powers with discretion. They would not forget that they had power to deal as they thought fit, with property representing many thousands of pounds, and the fact that the committee were dealing with property of value, should never be i lost sight of. The publican had much to contend with, and under the present Bill he was in a worse position Mian ever ! before. It was said that an Englishman's house was his castle, and that axiom applied to every house in the land except a public house, which could be invaded at • any moment. The temperance men— if any— on the new Committee, he fplt assured, would act with justice to all parties, and while losing no opportunity of restricting the traffic in strong drink where I au li could J>c dene without violence to ti)- ri; ■]:!>•. aJid ] nipcrty of individuals,

they would proceed most judiciously, carefully, and sensibly ; taking no extreme step suddenly and thoughtlessly, but leaving time— which did so many good things — to work very considerable reforms. We understand that Mr John Quigley, hotelkeeper, Reef ton, intent's to run a four-horse coach daily between Reefton und Boatman's. This will make three competing lines of coaches on the road between the places named. HThe fame of Reef ton has evidently spread far and wide, judging by the number of strangers arriving here almost daily from all parts of the Colony. It seems that the Lyell is also attracting population in the same way. Mr Binns, Inspector of Mines, arrivod by coach last night, upon his annual round of inspection. The mail from Greymouth arrived last night, but there will be no mail downwards this morning. The coach will arrive this evening, and leave for Grey, mouth to-morrow morning. There will bo no up mail to-morrow night. Some interest is being evinced in regard to Inangahua Low Level shares, which find buyera readily at 2s. Gd. We learn that hands have been put on to follow a trace of stone which was recently tiq^twith. • ' • fell THe lovely mansion of the Duke of Westministen known as Cliveden, near Maidenhead, it is reported, has been purchased by Mr Levi, the proprietor of the Daily Telegraph, for £200,000. Seeing that the improvements and alterations now making in Fleet-street for the abovenamed journal will cost many thousands, it appears that publishing penny newspapers is not such a bad thing after all. The Town and Country Journal contains the following in its answers to correspondents : — G. B. (Kumara, New Zealand) — (1.) The gold duty was abolished in New South Wales from the Ist October, 1879. The miner's right was reduced to 10s per month-by^felie^Act 16 Vie. No. 43, passed 28th September, 1853. It was further reduced to 10s per annum by the Act 20 Vie, No. 29, passed 11th March, 1857. The result of the test at Melbourne of a ton of paraffin butter from the Southern Cross Company's claim is considered a highly satisfactory one. The net value is said to be £15 Bs. It is said to be present in enormous quantities, one seam being 30ft thick, and over all the area of the ground. Shares are at a high premium here. Another record has been beaten. Mr G. George of the London Athletic Club, at the winter meeting held on November sth, won the 3 mile race in 14mins 46sees. this time being 3 and l-sth seconds shorter than the previous best on re cord. The first mile of the race was covered in 4mius 37^secs, two miles in 9mina 44secs, and the 3 miles as above. The Lyell Times says : — A numerously attended meeting was held at the Commercial Hotel, on Tuesday evening, to consider the advisability of raising subscriptions to offer a guarantee to a qualified medical man to settle in the district, Mr Bakewell who was voted to the chair, explained the object of the meeting, and dwelt at length upon the necessity of some immediate steps being taken in the matter. The district was in an isolated positiou, and when any cases requiring medical aid occurred, patients had to be sent a distance of 37 or 40 miles to Westport, entailing great expense, and in many cases resulting fatally, through there being no immediate means of relief available in the place, before sending them down. He thought that if a sum of, say, £100 were raised by subscription, that, together with the probable £00 from the Oddfellows' Society about being started here, would be a sufficient guarantee to induce a suitable member of the medical profession to settle in the district. What shall we do for servant girla ? " asks ' ' Civis "in the Otago Witness. This serious question is exercising the mind of many a housewife just now. The Government have stopped immigration, the girls will get married, and a local supply doesn't seem to be forthcoming. In one case we , heard of four girls getting married from one house within an incredibly short period of time. You can't prevent them, they will do it. And then the Colonial lassie likes anything rather than domestic service. Millinery and dressmaking, factory work, the hotel bar, are all more attractive than the private family with £35 or £40 a year and found. We shall have to come to " lady helps " at last, as they do in America, but, in the meantime, we would recommend the Government to recommence importing. A few lively new chum girls would be welcomed in this land of liberty. But in the long run we ought surely to be able to rely on a local supply, considering the number of girls there are to be pushed out into the world. They can't all marry straight away, and the clothing factories must be getting pretty well filled up. Couldn't we start a training school for young servant girls, or do something to ensure a supply ? When our domestics know that they are not easily replaced, they will get so high and mighty that there will be no holding them. The matter is getting so serious that we shall have to get a law passed providing that no domestic shall get wedded under a certain age— say 30. If they only knew what a toss-up for happiness or misery matrimony is, they would not be any great hardship to serve seven y^ars for a husband, and there would then be fewer of those <( recklesss " households that "'A Mother" wrote about in the Times so pathetically lately, and if houses were more comfortable there would be less drjnking and less wifebeating. The subject is a big one, and wants looking into. Correspondence between the Vicar General and Dr Coktti, showing that Mr Michael Fitspatrick had conformed to th-> -doctrines of the church, has bee

handed to the pres3. The Church authorities arranged with the family for the burial rites being performed at the grave of the deceased. The Freeman's Journal, the principal organ of the Catholics admits that a mistake was made in the refusal of the customary rites. Wellington has now the largest wooden building in the world, locality known as the '-shedince." Dunedin has now a great machine to do her dirty work, which on an analagous formation of words, might be called the "drudge." Auckland has a dock, and in order to enter it with any ease, ships have to be specially built with an obtuse angle amidships. Of what form and fashion is the Canterbury white elephant to be. At a recent dairy show, held in London a New Zealand cheese received the highest encomiums. The Lord Mayor publicly referred to it in most flattering terniß. We have in Australia and New South Wales ate excellent New Zealand cheese. The wonder is that one rarely gets decent cheese in New Zealand.