THE The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 1882.

Inangahua Times, Volume VII, Issue 1073, 12 April 1882, Page 2

THE The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 1882.

The news, appearing in another column, relative to the resignation of the Premier, and consequently of his Ministry, that we published in an extra yesterday morning,* is . the most startling political item that has come to hand for many a day. It has long been known that the Honorable John Hall has been for some time in failing health, and the battle of the stonewalling during, the close pf the last session of the last Parliament, during which he stuck to his post heroically, affected ,him materially for the worse, His iftteiHneßS must have prostrated him, completely, and in view of the meeting %l Parliament on the 18th proximo/ it $eat for Selwyn an/will prffe* a pillar of strength td^ips party,' though not iitting on the Ministerial benches. Thd question comes, what next t We are told the Governor is to be brought up to Wellington to receive the resignation of his Ministers, but this, of course, only means really that he is to receive the resignation of the Honor* able John Hall, who, as usual on such occasions, will recommend his Excellency to send for some at present unknown. In due constitutional course the Governor will send for some gentleman named by the retiring Premier and ask him to construct a Ministry. He will do so, will submit the names for his Excellency's approval, they will be duly approved of, and a new Government, constructed out of old material, will be formed. All the above is a matter of routine, but in what form., when the Ministerial kaleidospope is shaken, the glasses will appear is a matter for considerable speculation. It is naturally to be assumed that, though the colleagues of the Honorable John iEall resign, it is merely a inatter of formality, and that they really will not leave office, but, by their resignation, permitre-construction. This is understood, but the most puzzling thing is to know who the retiring Premier virtually appoints in his stead, when he recommends him to be sent for. Out of the present Ministers there is no one fitted in any respect to assume the position of Premier, though the Colonial Treasurer, Major Atkinson, is one who, as was said of Lord John Russell by" One of his opponents, would take the command of the Channel Fleet at a moment's notice, or perform an oper- - -p4v>n for^th^-atone.-— -JE»~(M*jor Atkinson's) modesty will never bar his advancement, and it is just possible that he may have the temerity to undertake the task, in which case his Government will be a very short-lived one. He makes a very good Treasurer, but there his capacity ends. He is too short-tempered, and carries far too little ballast for the responsible position of Premier, for, though good in debate, he is simply aggressive and combative, and has no idea of conciliation or of throwing oil on troubled waters. The Attorney-General, Mr Whitaker, is in the Upper House, and though he might find a pliant member who would give way and allow him to be elected in his stead, it is very unlikely, at his age, that he would care to descend into the more troubled arena of the House of Representatives, still less to accept the Premiership with all its cares. The Hon. R. Oliver, though holding office without a portfolio, is not to be thought of. The Hon. William Rolleston, though a genial and highly educated man, is not the man to lead the House. He is irritable to even a greater extent than his colleague, the Colonial Treasurer, and would not hold his party together a week. The Hon. W. W. Johnston, the Postmaster - General, though a merchant of high standing in Wellington, cannot in a political sense say boo to a goose, and was only taken into the Cabinet in order to throw a sop to Cerberus in the shape of the Wellington provincial district, and secure the votes of its members, Last of all, the Hon. J, Bryce, JJaiive Minister, is very Unlikely to be taken from a position that suits him so well, and he may be put aside. Out of the Spsent Ministers, it is evident that onMpl}? Rolleston pj? Major Atkinson 4py|g^ssibjy &pre to the position, regard to their maintenance t>i power, it is hardly likely they would take such a risk. The question comes should they decline, who is the coming man? A number of the leading politicians of the day, members in fornjer years, were Igft out in the cold at the last election, JUr Onnond, Sir William Fox, Mr Wakefield, and others of note were rejected, and the new blood that was juifused su pplied no possible Cabinet On looking down %e list of members there really does not seem to be one capably of taking the helm, under whom the present Cabinet would serve, and a poalition, however desirable seems impossible. Possibly, therefore, the remains pf the late Government may be competed to. fall b.ack on themselves, and if they do, their destruction is certain. It is a matter for regret at the present time that such a crisis should have arisen, for at least this district seemed under the late regime likely to obtain some share of justice. The suspense will not, however, be long, and the public will, we are sure, watch with very great interest the turn that political affairs wilj

shortly take. [Since the above was in type -we have received the astounding intelligence by telegraph that His Excellency has sent for Sir George* Grey, and that the veteran has promptly answered to the summons. This bears out pur expressed opinion that neither in the present Ministry, • nor in their following, a Premier could be found who would command a majority in the House. It is tolerably certain that Sir George Grey will equally fail, even if he succeed in gathering a Ministry together at all. It may possibly be that a coalition may be formed, but none of the outgoing Ministers are likely to run in harness with Sir George Grey as their coachman. Altogether the situation is one of the most extraordinary ever known in political annals, but owing to the late hour at which we received the news we are compelled to abstain from further comment in this issue.]

That the Inangahua district, after suffering great depression, is entering on a season of equal prosperity there can be no doubt It posesses at the present time some of the largest divid<end paying mines in the colonies and, to tt very short time, at leastlix or seven will be addea to the present list, whilst there is every certainty of the number being swelled from time to time. The mistakes of the past have taught wisdom for the future, and, though the lesson has been rather painful for many, it will be a salutary one. Tbe shareholders in the various companies have now learnt the lesson, that they must be guided in their choice of directors by capacity instead of interj est, and have found by experience that to place persons ignorant of mining in such positions means simply ruin to themselves. Practical and, at least partially, scientific men are taking the place of incompetet, pigheaded people, and the beneficial result is already being felt In gold mining, as in all other ventures of the same kind, there must be blanks amongst the prizes, and if the latter bear a fair proportion to the former it is as much as reasonable persons can expect That a good many people have a well founded confidence in the district is evidenced in the number of leases applied for, and the area they represent, within the last ten months. We have been courteously supplied with a few particulars on this head, which will probably be of interest to our readers. The number of leases applied for since Ist of June last year is 240, of which 12 have been since withdrawn leaving the actual number 228. Of these 68 have been surveyed representing an area of not less than 1122 acres. There are, pending survey, 160 which embrace an area of nearly 4000 acres, equal to 6£ square miles. All these, when surveyed, will be proceeded withj so that in the time above stated the serveyed and unsurveyed leases will anount to 5122 acijes. This is of course exclusive of the leases already occupied and worked, and will give a fair idea of the vastness of this field when fully Opened up. It must be remembered also that these leases have not been wildly applied for, anywhere and everywhere promiscuously, where pegs could be stuck into the ground or trenches cut, but the applications are the result of calculations founded on lines of payable reefs in tested claims, and the probably of their running through the various areas. There have been some good grounds for such application in every case, and should only one half of these prove correct the future of the Reefton district must be a rosy one. Everything seems tending to show that such will be the case, and with respect to the unjustifiable attacks that have recently been made by a portion of the pregs on mining speculation here, the facts that are daily coming to light are far more than a sufficient refutation.

We remind those who propose to supply Hospital supplies for the ensuing year, that tenders will close this day at 6 p.m. A meeting of the Executive Committee of the County Council was held on Monday last, for the purpose of dealing with landers for works. The first was the widening" of the short track to Boatman's into a bridle track. There were six tenders for No. 1 section — 1 mile 3 chains— the first three of which were remarkably c'.ose, viz., P. Fallan, £161 17s. ; T. Lapham, £166, and Davine and Campbell, £172. The first, being lowest, was accepted. For No. 2 section of the same work — 1 mile 19 chains— five put in, but there was a very wide difference in the estimates, Davine and Co. tendered for £196 3«., and got the contract, the next on the list was Blakely and Molloy at £272, whilst the highest was Cochrane and Sons, at £378 3s. The tender of D. Hogan for a track to the State School, Capleston, 14 chains in length, was accepted at £18 18s., W. Cochrane being only two shillings more at £19. Four other tenders were sent in for forming three chains in Kelly-street, Reef ton, the tender of David Young for £13 55., was accepted. Three others tendered. We understan4 that the Blackwater track, being a continuation about one mile in length to Blackwater will be finished this week, The Cariboo track will be handed over in about a fortnight, and will open up a large extent of country. Mr Revell, R.M., left for Wellington on Saturday last in oonnection with some matters at Charleston, on which the Government required agcupate information from him. The next Court day is the 20th, and it fa quite possible that the present Ministerial crisis may so prolong his stay that he may be unable to be here on the above date. Some Stir was paused in town yesterday by reciept of intelligence that a very promising- gold-bearing reef had been met

with on the ground pf the Wealth of Nations Company. The discovery was made in an old tunnel in ground originally j held by th* Golden Bell Company, "but , more recently by the Rational Company, j and at the present time the property of j the Wealth of Nations Extended Company. The manager was led to the discovery by taking the compass bearings of the reef in the Keep-it- Dark mine, which carried the line across the tunnel in question, and a short cross-cut having been put in at the point of intersection, the reef was met with after going only a foot or two. The reef gives a thickness of 3ft. 6in., and a shot put in yesterday shows that it is of thoroughly solid formation. Gold is freely seen in the stone, the payableness of which is beyond doubt. It is not at present known whether the lode is a continuation of the Keep-it-Dark reef or a distinct line, but a few days will, no doubt, put all doubt at rest on this head. In the meantime, the shareholders of the Wealth of Nations Company are to be congratulated upon what bears every appearance of a really valuable discovery. , >'• '*$£&s£,.' We fire glad^thear that Mr Jennirig%' surveyor, has arrived itfßeefton, in. order to as*uyyyfr Moitgtoeryln^to jsW)rk.*. The lister gentleman hjas of *late $rau a great deal more on his hands thaif ' £e could do, and greatly needed aid .in his department. Now, the surveys that are waiting will be able to be pushed on, and pending applications for leases be more rapidly dealt with. A fire, fortunately unattended with serious consequences, broke out last evening in a four-roomed house in Churchstreet, belonging to Mr Alexander, and occupied by James Moore. Mrs Moore had gone out for a few minutes leaving a lamp burning orj. the table but apparently quite safe. Shortly afterwards flames were seen in the house, arid assistance was promptly rendered. On entering the building, the whole of thq ceiling and scrim on the walls were fotlmd to be burning, and it was in a great measure owing to the prompt action of Mr Thompson that further damage was averted. He pulled down a portion of the burning paper, and threw water on the rest, till other persons on the roof were able to assist in quenching the fire. As it is, all the injury done is the destruction of the paper of two rooms, but had the fire not been discovered at such an early stage, nothing could have saved the cottage and contents from being burnt down. The Greymouih coach yesterday brought up the inward '/Frisco mail. It is announced that on and after the 10th instant, and until officially closed, a Telegraph Office will be opened at the Exhibition building, Christchurch, The hours are from 9 to 5, and in the evening from 7 to 8 o*cl6ck. Owing to the reported paucity of the exhibits of the Reefton mineral and other products at the Christchurch Exhibition it is intended to supplement at the eleventh hour, by a further consignment of specimens of Marbie, Timber, Iron Ore, Auriferous Quartz, Antimony, &c, and probable contributors are requested, prior to a public meeting being called, to confer with Mr H. G. Hankin. The co-op-eration of Mining Managers and Directors are solicited at once. In the Rangiora Court on Tuesday, a plaintiff in reply to his counesl gave some amusing evidence respecting the class of sheep on an up county station where he was cook. He positively asserted that they did not weigh over 171bs, when the hide was on. They were no bigger than rabbits. He had, in fact, seen bigger rabbits on the Waimakariri islands. The skin of the sheep might weight 51bs. which it will be seen left the weight of a side of this class of mutton at 61bs. In answer to counsel for the other side, this witness was equally confident that he had seen rabbits weighing 161bs, but the learned gentleman, who is fond of his gun, failed to elicit the locality of such happy hunting grounds. The evidence given for the defence as to the quality of the sheep was of a totally different character, and was to the effect that the sheep weighed from 401bs" to 50 lbs each. The Nelson Colonist has the following, and as the sanitary condition of Reefton is most favourable to scarlet fever, we republish the paragraph as it stands. Our contemporary Bays: — "iSow that scarlet 1 fever is creating alarm in Nelson, the following recipe for its cure may be of service. It is sent forth to the world by the Paris School of Medicine, and is stated to be a certain cure in ejrery instance. Take Sulphate of Zinc, one grain, Foxglove (digitalis), one grain, one half- - i-teaspoonful of sugar, mix with two tablespoonfuls of water, when the above has been thoroughly mixed add four ounces of water, then take a teaspoonful every hour. In twelve hours the disease will disappear. For a child give smaller doses, according to age. The mixture is perfectly harmless if taken by a person in good health. The Auckland Herald advocates the plan of leasing the land in the King country from the natives in preference to buying it, as one likely to meet with the approval of the natives. The following is a description of the wedding of Miss Emma Marie Carandini — "The Scots' Church, Collins-street, wai to-day (Saturday) the scene of a fashion able wedding. The church was crowded to excess, the audience consisting mostly of the fair sex. The bride was Mias Emma Marie Carandini, daughter cf Madame Carandini, a lady who is well ard favorably known in the musical world. The bridegroom was Mr Robert Walter Wilaon, a gquatter, from Queensland. The bridesmaids were Miss Ida Palmer, Miss Emily Palmer, Miss Parker, and Miss Turner. Mr Gilbert Wilson, of Brisbane, the bridegroom's brother, was the best man. The bridesmaids wore (Ivesaes of the. very palost shade of duck-

egg green. The underskirts were °* P a^ e pink ; duckegg green Gainsborough hats I lined with pale pink, Boft pale pink feathers and pearfe ; pale pink gloves ; ! each bridesmaid wearing a costly brooch and bouquet, the gift of the bridegroom. Mrs Palmer, Bister of the bride, wore a very elegant purple velvet train, over pale lavender satin, elegantly trimmed with lace ; an elegant bonnet of the two colors beautifully blended with pansies. Madame Carandini wore a gorgeous dress of dark green grosgrain silk, handsomely trimmed wjth satin; bonnet, old gold, with pale pink feather ; handsome ornaments, of dead gold. The bride wore * handsome grosgrain silk of the palest cream, elegantly made ; veil beautifully trimmed with old point ; an elegant wreath of orange blossom on a simple coiffure head, elegant diamond necklace and cross, the gift of the bridegroom, completed the beautifnl costume, The ceremony, which was very impressive, was performed by the Rev. Charles Strong. The bouquets were got up in good style, especially the bride's, who had a splendid bouquet paper trimmed with white silk," or&nge blossom, swasH' down; asd lacsefe . ,■ .