THE Inangahua Times, PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1882.

Inangahua Times, Volume VII, Issue 1054, 27 February 1882, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times, PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1882.

It is rather .di^cuit to Understand the disinclination which the Government manifest witbTegard to the extension of the telegraph to Boatman's. It has already been shown that the cost of carrying the wire from the main line at Cronadun. |o Capleston — a distance of some four tir fiver miles, would be comparatively light, and the residents of Boatman's having agreed to guarantee the expenso of working the line at their end, ii *#6uld "be thought that the Gpyertiment' could hardly desire _pre favorable conditions' for extending • biisiriess ike Department The proposal, ihffwever, for some unacbountabte reason hangs fire, and the boon is as far off as ever. From what wt^ can gather on. thg subject Government, cpnsider^that a telephone, worked by some --fcrustworthyr. private resident of; the place — such for instance as the state school teacher, or other person, would meet all tihe requirements of the case. Bujb'a^JtJjiere i hapipens to be no stfcte school teacher at Boatman's just ydt, .^nd. ii is whether any of tho business people would care to be bothered -with such An agency, we do not see, how the proposal can be carried out. ■ We are aware that Mr Weston hais bjone all he could in the matter, but it is apparent that unless

his hands are strengthened by renewed agitation, the demand is in a fair way of drifting, into the limbus of forgotten things. ...-.■

It is said that fifteen to twenty experienced quartz miners c'buld find imm,ediate employment at Boatman's just nowy there being a scarcity bf hands at several of the mines.

The friends of Mr C. M'Gaffin will be glad to learn that he is now fast' re-gaining his health arid strength, and his attendants look forward to his early release from his long illness.

We learn that the Diamond Drill and aiir-tiom pressing machinery for the Golden Fleece Extended Company were shipped on board the sfihopher A^u, ai Melbourne, .last wj»kj and thfi>r^ess|l may therefore, be expected to . arrive *fi& Greymouth in the course of a week or v ten days. Mr John Trennery, the company's manager, will reach Reefton during the present week.

Long neglected Hopeful scrip came in for a shard of attention oil Friday and Saturday last, at prices ranging from 6s. t^ 7s. 6d. Mr Gardner has been engaged to make a survey of the mine, and it ia the general belief that the lode can be intersected from the No. 6 level, and driving with that object in vieyr will now be proceeded with,

The Chinese provided a great treat for the youth of I eefton on Thursday and Friday evenings last. At the corner of Shiels and Smith-sheets a pole about 40 feet in height was erected, and susppnded on the top in the fpnn of the latter T was a cross-piece with a paper lantern swinging at each end, and between the lanterns was hung a ship or some such representation made wholly of fireworks. The object was to throw up lighted packets of crackers at the ship, and the first to ig- •■•"''? it received a prize of £A). There

ir-OVe DV'fcU" hjllf jiu.J'u'i.

and thoy nearly all had a shy at it, some y them bjiiic. vivyUcj;! with as many a..

twenty packets of crackers, anc! the throwing being carried on promiscuously — a dozen throwing at the same time, the whole locality was ablaze with fire-works from .eight o'clock in the evening till 11. | p.ni. Although the performance ap- J peared to be of very easy accomplishments_ to^Europeans nearly a thousand packets of crackers were used before the targe^was hit, and this was the signal for, a tremendous Mongolian yell of satisfaction, explosion of the ship caused a grand display, it being well loaded with rockets, Roman candles, squibs, and other fireworks, illuminating the whole neighbourhood for several minutes. Reefton ; tainted out en masse to witness the exhibition, which was really worth seeing. 'The performance waa repeated on the following evening. An accident, resulting in the loss of a valuable draught horse and dray, happened on Black's Point track, on Saturday last; A man named Alexander M'Dowal 'was driving down to Reefton and on reaching the slip the horse stumbled and went over the cliff into the river. The fall atjfchis point about 70 feet and < iawMeni same fate, but fi although mucb bruised _ the fall he managed to struggle out of the .river, and effected a landing on the opposite Bide. There was a rather stiff fresh running and the f horse and dray were swept at once into the whirlpool at the bend, and nothing was seen of either until yesterday When the dray and the carcass of the horse were pulled ashore. The loss is a very heavy one^ as the. animal was a very valuable Clydesdale stallion andmuch prized forstud pu-ffjposes.^ M'Dowal's escape was providential. It has been suggested that a few pannels of fencing round the slip would add much to the security of traffic at that point.

The memorial to the Government on the subject of opening a mail, service by coach between Brunnerton: and Foxhill is being numerously signed throughout the; Inangahua, public feeling being unanimously in favor of the establishment of the Service.

, Mr James Stevenson sold by auction on Saturday last a four-roomed cottage, and seciion of land, situate in Shiel-street, Reefton, the purchaser being Mr A. Nottman, at £136.

The New Zealand Mail says the Customs Department has been relieved from a most onerous duty. Henceforth auctioneers, wholesale wine and spirit merchants, publicans, and the holders of steam packet licenses will obtain their permits directly from Municipalities, County Councils, &c.,, under the provisions of ihe Licensing Act, 1881. Brewers, as heretofore, ' Will ob*yain their 'licenses from the Customs Department.

Now that there is so much talk anent small-pox, it may interest our readers to learn how vaccination is accomplished in the Flowery Land. Every Chinese who wishes to be made proof against infection submits his nose to the lancet of the vaccinator, and the Government give him by way of reward a donation of fivepence.

We observe by the Brisbane Observer of 26th January that Mr Daniel M 'Kellar, formerly of Hokitika, met with his death suddenly in Queensland, through excessive heat. Referring to the circumstance, the Observer says : — " The present hot summer has removed many worthy citizens of Queensland, and amongst others one who, although he never took any public part here, was a most deserving citizen. Bi Mr Daniel M 'Kellar, senior, whose funeral took place yesterday afternoon, many Australian and New Zealand colonists will feel the loss of a sincere friend. Mr M 'Kellar had been acknowledged an artist in his profession of engraver, and his works, we hope, will turn to account hereafter. Mr M 'Kellar had his struggles on the daily preas ; he some years ago was connected with the West Coast Times, one of the most influential papers pub lished in New Zealand. Men with such ability seldom make their appearance in Australia.

. Under the signature of "Lorgnette, " a contributor to the London Sportsman, of a recent date, thus writes :— " I was shown yesterday a current copy of a wellknown Northumbrian newspaper, the Newcastle Daily Chronicle, which strikes me as being the biggest product of journalism which the news agents have ever sold. Even iii normal times the Chronicle is a literary Goliath, and to fill up one of the Roman-wall sort of Columns is a task calculated to wear, out even a Waverly pen. This week, in honor of the Stephenson centenary, the size of the paper was doubled, and the result was forty solid ifeet of regular square reading : or one hundred and forty-two columns of matter. This, I fancy, is the largest library of the kind ever published, and as I have many kindly memories of the men in the north and of northern newspaper chiefs, I have laid by this number of the Chronicle for future perusal. I may hope to get down to the imprint by the time Christmas comes round again. One little compliment I ought to pay here, however. The articles all appear, so far as could be judged from a hasty glance, to be capitally written, and the reporting of the multitudinous meetings to have been accomplished without a hitch. The worthy master printer who held the complete sheet in his hands the morning after the Centenary, must surely have felt more comfortable than on the morning preceding the ' lifting ' of such a seven-acre field of journalistic enterprise. "

Relative to the approaching foot-races, on February 22nd, between Hill, of Shag Point, and Frank Oliver, of Victoria, an Oamaru correspondent writes : — " Oliver is in hard training, and will come to the post very fit, and in my opinion up to 300 yards there is no one in f» ew Zealand can ■/ft near him. At the Ofimaru Caledonian sports, on 3iJ Jur.r ry, he ran what I belii've to be the fastest 120 yards from

scratch ever dtfne hi the Colony, his time being 12|sec. He had to #ye the winner of the 220 yards handicap five yards start, and the samo to A. pal|leish, and he fas leading before they had gone 70 yards. Then he was in no condition, and seemed as if he had never been trained. I think Hill will have all his work cut out to get out of his road with three yards start in 100 yards, four in 150, and six in 200. I may add that Oliver lias, I believe, run the fastest 330 yards in New Zealand, his time being 36fseca,". •