THE The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, MAY 26, 1882.

Inangahua Times, Volume VII, Issue 1092, 26 May 1882, Page 2

THE The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, MAY 26, 1882.

The Parliamentary campaign just commencing seems surrounded with strange ; complications, and there is such an evident chaos in parties at the present time that a week or two must elapse before order, or even recognised disorder, is ' evolved. It seems pretty certain that the Grey rule has for ever ceased, though a faithful- few still hold on to their veteran chief. We find that at a caucus held this week twenty-four members were present, but the Grey followers " vould have none of it " and studiously absented themselves from the proceedings, though within the building in which it was held. As far as can be ascertained the choice of leadership of the Opposition lies between Mr Macandrew and Mr Montgomery, but the Colonial Treasurer (Major Atkinson), who will lead in the House of Representatives, where the real fighting is dorie,^oa%ries too many guns for either ofsfcbem. Mr Macandrew is one of the oldest politicians in New Zealand, arid' has long been the idol of Otago, but he is getting into the sere and yellow, and, however powerful, is something like the discarded ironclads tibtt have 'given way to the lighter class of cruiser. Able as he undoubtedly is^ lie id £oo slow for a thoroughly efficient leader, and belongs to the.past rather than the present school. Mr Montgomery, who, has not liad nearly the great political experience of Mr Macandrew, is an intelligent man, who made a fortune by storekeeping at Akaroa, in the Canterbury district^ an d can now enter into politics without, at least, being subject to the imputation of being a professional politician. He also, however, wants the smartness that the the leader of any successful Opposition is supposed to be possessed of, and has never yet displayed the ability that a Premier js usually understood to be endowed with. At the same time he is respected by both sides of the House, and it is possible, of the two named, that hewillbe the chosen. There is another press veteran seems to be coming to the front in the 'person of Mr W. Hut chison, who represents one of the Wellington divisions, and who was mayor of that e% for years. He was Chairman of the late Opposition caucus, and, it may fairly be assumed, if they «re successful in turning out the present Ministry, that he will be one of the re-constructed Cabinet He has been for many years connected with the press, and has taken an active part in politics for years, his views being of the most pronounced radical type. He commenced his career on the John 0' Groat's Journal, published at Wick, in the northern portion of Scotland, and within the Jasfele^^refirtJ^^ondfl^l^ an - evening pajwrih Wellington^ Tne re» snlt of the election of Chairman of Committees will, in some degree, indicate the strength of parties. Mr W. J. Hurst, who seems to be the chosen of the Government, is member for one of the Auckland constituencies, and is chiefly remarkable for having ratted from the Grey party at a critical time, in company with Messrs Colbeck, Swanston, and Reader Wood, and having thereby caused the downfall of the Grey Ministry. He is a seedsman in a good business, and is the very prince of Tufveydrops, who sets the House an example of "deport- ; ment" edifying to witness. He is j likely, however, to be opposed it seems by Messrs Hamlin and Thomp- ■ son, the former member for a northern constituency, and the latter represent- < ing Glutha. Both are Opposition I members, but the latter is the most ; pronounced, having for a short time ; held office under the Grey administra- , tion, Regarding the prospects of the ; Government, as we have stated On a ( former occasion, the retirement of the ( Hon. J. Hall has been a serious loss to 1 them, and Mr Whitaker will very inadequately supply his place, the Ministerial strength at present lying ' rather in the want of unity on the ] part of the Opposition factions, and the utter absence of a leader that can ' combine all its discordant elements. ' Sir George Grey's following may be i i put down at a' dozen at t**e very out- ; side, but if these are added to the twenty-four, who lately attended the Opposition jaucus, that number makes three dozen out of a House of 91. ' This is certainly not promising for the i opponents of the Government, but « there are more than a score who are at i present sitting on a rail, undecided on ; which side of the fence they will get i down, There are two other elections ] pendingtoo, for Wakanui, and Franklyn j North, and though only two members are to be returned, even this small , number, when parties are so nearly , balanced, will have influence, and the i contests are likely to be more than usually warm. Looking at the matter j in all its aspects it seems probable , that the Government will, at4east, at ( the outeet, have a ■mall majority, and if there v going to be a struggle it is to be hoped that it will be got over • quickly, so that the work of the J session may not be delayed by these incessant conflicts for place and power. , It appears pretty certain that there will be a good deal of trouble in the Parliamentary atmosphere, and the sooner the storm is over and calm ' established, the better for the progress ' of the Colony, and the advantage of all the eonsituencies within, its limits.

Mr Cox, the Assistant Geofogist of the ' Colony, came up to Reefton on Saturday : last. Hi* object was to inspect the coal < measure* of th« locality, and on Monday < he went over the mine at Lankey'* Gully i and ConnoJJy'i old mine, and new seam 3

lately opened,. He expressed himself as very favorably impressed with both. In the afternoon, he visited the mine lately opened by Mr A. Breen, and gave (similarly favorable opinions respecting it. He is proceeding to Westport to report on the mines there, and left by the coach on Tuesday morning. A miserable fog hung over the town yesterday though the weather was otherwise fine and no rain fell. Business generally was as gloomy as the mist and nothing of any kind worth narration was stirring. lfren,the.,sharebrokcrs, generally so busy, were comparatively quiet under the climatic depressing influences. We regret to say that there are no-more tidings of James Paul and the search after his body has so far proved unavailing. There is not the slightest doubt that he has been drowned, but it is strange that no sign of the corpse can be discovered. No doubt it must be entangled in gome snag, otherwise it would have risen before this, as it is nearly a fortnight since the accident, whatever it was, happened. The potfcelsearched yesterday as far as the Left Hand Branch but without result. Ali hope of his ever being seen alive again incompletely at an end. The friends of the missing man James Paul have now been driven to the conclusion that be met hi» death by drowning in^the Inangahua river, and desire us to state that a reward will be paid for the recovery of the body. This should have the effect of stimulating the search. Mr M'Kay, wti<ji|^» as we previously stated, sent here 61a a genjfal geological survey, has found the late "Weather rather too much for him. He has been most diligent in his search after, specimens, and has collected some couple of hundred samples of rocks of. all kinds, which he has packed ready for transference to to Wellington, keeping duplicates for the proposed Beefton Museum. He has made no specially new discoveries during his visit, but it strongly impressed him with the great value of the district in a mineral sense.' He admits that in this region at this season of the year exploration is almost impossible, and therefore has wisely given it best. In the spring, the stream tin that has been already discovered, will be traded to its source, and other metals as yet hardly known will be unearthed. Mr M 'Kay went to Boatman's on Tuesday, where a number of local matters in connection with mining will be investigated by him, after which he will proceed to Wellington. We fear that the hoped for mining lectures will not come off owing to hia leaving. We may say that he has in his possession some excellent specimens of plumbago got from the Specimen Hill Company. Ws regret to find that the chances of Beefton having a Stamp Office established may be deemed to be at present hopeless. The following letter has been received from the Colonial Treasurer by Mr Weston, M;9f|L "Wellington, 12th May, -158&. -^JKptdear Sir,— l beg you will accept mjß ;offr>logy for not having replied to your f .lidif of the 12th ultimo before now. The question of opening a Stamp Office at Beefton has been carefully considered by me after obtaining full information on the subject, and I am reluctantly compelled to reply to you that I cannot at present see the way to complying with the wishes of the residents in that town. I have satisfied myself that the additional revenue which would be obtained by opening a branch office would in reality be out of all proportion to the cost of working the office ; and if the desire to have the office were gratified, the Department would at onqe, be inundated with applications from a large number of other towns, the inhabitants of which are equally desirous of obtaining the convenience of a local Stamp Office, and, probably, could adduce just as reasonable claims for it as those of Beefton. The time occupied in the transit of the mails between Beefton and Hokitika is, I find, only two days, under ordinary circumstances, and there are other towns— Wanganui for instance— no better off. The cost of a ft;tonch office is considerable j and if offices 1 were opened at all the smallec^bn^resoi, population, it would, in the opjjnioti of the Government, be found thfiC'tfye total cost would be altogether too great in proportion to the extra convenience to the public. Begretting that I am unable to give effect to your request. — I am, $c., H. A. Atkinson. —T. S. WestQn,' Esq., Christchurch." The legal manager of the Lankey's Creek Gold Mining Company has received information th«t the plant, recently pur chased for the company, is now being shipped on board the schooner Clyde, at present loading in the Thames. She will sail for Greymouth in a day or two arid her arrival may be looked form a fortnight from the present date. Burton's Circus gave two entertainments on Wednesday, one in the afternoon especially for children, the other in the evening. Both were well attended, the number of youngsters showing up in the first performance being extraordinary. The Company proceeded to Boatman's and played at Capleston last evening to a crowded tent. The Bey. Father Chesnais, a Catholic Mission priest, is now on a visit to Beefton and its district, and has held services for some days in the church of the denomination. He is a preacher of great power and eloquenced, and completely carries away his audience with him, whilst the numbers that attend his ministrations show the appreciation of all who hear him. A member of the staff of the Bangitikei Advocate, whilst travelling up the Wangaehu Biver last week, accepted an invitation to stay at Aperahama's house, near Kaiwhangaroa. where he was received and hospitably entertained by a cleanly and intelligent Maori girl, aged about 18, who informed him in plain English that she had been born deaf and

d «mb, andwasßtill perfectly fleaf ; but that by dint of perseverance and assistance, she had mastered the art of lipreading, and afterwards of forming and uttering words and sentences, which she herself could not hear. Our contemporary vouches for the truth of this. Mr F, H. Digby, a well-known contributor to the Canterbury Press, under the nora de plume of "The Loafer," is dead. For some time he had been suffering from an affection of the brain, which has developed to such an extent that he had to be removed to the asylum, where, rapidly getting worse, he died last week. ■ The fairs recently held in Sydney and Melbourne have been such a succeas that the promoters of those in the former city have thought it worth while to transfer their operations to iV ew Zealand. Christchurch has been chosen as the most suitable place, on account, we presume, of the attractions of the Exhibition conducing both to an increase of population and a loosening of the purse strings. Under the heading "worthy of imitation" the Halifax Guardian has the following paragraph :— "Some yean ago a gentleman through misfortune, went away from Halifax^ leaving several of his creditors unpaid** He^asJAtgl^, ihrough Messrs. Emmet and >val!l£er r Solicitors, discharged his liability to them, along with forty years's interest, at the rate of five per cent." Mr George Duncan, of Taranaki, was one of the creditors, and by the last mail the old debt was remitted to him. A good deal has been said and written (says the Wairarapa Star) about the decoy elephants employed by the elephant hunters of India, but it may be a curious fact for naturalists to learn that Mr Walter Perry, the well known Masterton butcher, has had for a long time a decoy bullock, which is in the habit of leading the way to the yards when beasts have to be slaughtered, and then jumping over the backs of his dupes as soon as they are speared. The animal from its calfhood has been trained to the work, and seems to take a delight in it. Among the applications received by the Timaru Harbor Board for the post of Harbor Master one was dated from " Addington,"and signed "TeWhiti." The writer professed to be well acquainted with the shoals of New Zealand, and gave as a reference "friend John Bryce." "Te Whiti" recommended a friend, "Tohu," for the post of pilot should the Board require one. The posccript, "Salary no object," should have won the letter more consideration than it received, the Chairman declining to read it through. The Rev B. Coffey, of Wellington, at the close of his sermon last Sunday evening, administered a strong rebuke to those who are in the habit of rushing out of church immediately the firebell sounds. The rev. gentleman (according to the Post), stated that it was contrary to the canons of the Church of England f or^ersons to leave until the close of the service, and, he expressed a hope that in future, when the firebell sounded the churchwardens would take charge of the doors and prevent anyone leaving who had not reasonable cause for so doing. The preacher further observed that the majority of those who left on such occasions appeared to be young people, who could have no real necessity for going out of the church. Writes the London correspondent of the N.Z. Times : — Money in the London market is fast becoming cheap and plentiful, and company promoters are preparing lor a brisk summer campaign, in which, they expect 'great success. Robert Campbell and Sons' New Zealand shares (£7 paid) are now quoted at 6 to 6£. Some think the shareholders paid too much for the property, but one of the directors informs me that they are likely to soon pay a first dividend of 10 per cent, The New Zealand Agricultural Company has been gradually increasing the amount of its dividend's. I hear of new colonial loans that are shortly to be placed on the market, and of yet another New Zealand Land Company which is proposed to be set afloat here.