THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 1882.

Inangahua Times, 31 May 1882, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI- WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 1882.

It now seems to be pretty generally I understood that Mr Montgomery will assume the leadership of the Opposition, and, should a successful attack be made on the Government, he will be called on to form a Government. As met the point of attack d^efl jiot appear jltobe indicated, but|slu no doubt be BBfifen during the^OT&lifent week.- The^ j^^jynary skjton|l|dn. the election of rip|||j|raan ol^omtnittees appears miki&tb Be avdmd by a compromise any political motive. * Mr i Hamlin, though nominally an Opposition member, is by no means a violent partisan, and last session, especially during the stonewalling time, gave the Government hearty support During the continuous sittings on the Representation BUI, when the stonewallers kept the House in Committee for some three or four days, he took turns at times in relieving Mr Seymour, the proper Chairman, and fulfilled the duties well. He has had long Parliamentary experience and would make as good a Chairman as any member of the House. The appointment of Mr Montgomery to the leadership will greatly strengthen the Opposition, for, though by no means a brilliant man, he is still honest and trustworthy, and numbers who would neither accept Sir George Grey, Mr Macandrew, or indeed any other member of the Grey Administration, will serve' finder him, and even the special Grey following are likely to unite their forces with him as the " General." It has been said that the Native Minister's policy, past and proposed, will be the peg on which the attack will be made, but this is hardly likely. The measures on this subject, which Mr Bryce will propose, will scarcely be made a Ministerial question, as past legislation has already affirmed the main features contained. Should Mr Montgomery succeed to power his Cabinet is likely td be «. radical one and Mr Macandrew is pretty sure to have a seat in it, in addition to which, as a reward for support, it is very likely that one of the leading joints of Sir George Grey's tail will also be incorporated in it, thus indirectly giving the veteran at least an indirect I voice in the affairs of the colony. Altogether Mr Montgomery isjihe most dangerous member that the present Ministry could have to head the Opposition forces, and we should by no means be surprised if his assumption of the position were to prove fatal to their tenure of office. In any case, should he be fully recognised as chief by all sections of the Opposition, one of the great supports of Ministers, the utterly disorganised condition of their opponents, will be cut away. In a few days hence we may expect light to be thrown on the future, for the battle may now fairly be considered as commenced ; it remains to be seen with whom the victory will remain.

The Nil Desperandums have taken a rise and were sold and subsequently held for ti ye shillings. A sporting holder of a large quantity has wagered that they reach twenty shillings by July, a bet we sincerely hope he will win, as its realisation would augur r. al good to the shareholders personally, and the district generally. In connection with Resident Magistrate's Court proceedings in Reefton it is worthy of note that for the half-year ending tomorrow, there have only been fifty civil actions brought in it. On all previous years, for the same period, they have averaged 300. Whatever inferences may be drawn we leave our readeis to do for themselves, but we need hardly say tie lawyers are in despair. <

At the half-yearly meeting' of share- I holders in the Imperial Company, held at Mr Wise'B office, yesterday, the following were elected directors for the ensuing six months :— Messrs Hobby, Ash ton, Kilgour, Clifford, md i*ottman. Mr Hindmarsh was re-elected auditor. The local sharemarket was very active on Monday and yesterday, and commissions from Dunedin and elsewhere poured in very freely. Amongst the lines most operated upon were Keep-it-Darks, f- il Desperandums, Imperials, Wealth of Nations, Inangahua Low Level Tunnels, Caledonian Extendeds, and many others, and during the last day or two some very large parcels of these stocks have passed to Dunedin holders. The new* from the Keep-it-Dark yesterday, fully confirms previous reports, and as a consequence the mines adjoining are fast gathering strength. There will be a sitting of the B.M. and Warden's Courts to-morrow, before Mr 3S. Baker, Acting Resident Magistrate and [Warden. .. '•. The Australian cricketers are still %c---torious in their English tour, having now defeated the Surrey club in « match played at the Oval, by no less than six wickets. They have now played four matches, three of which they have won, and drawn the fourth With the Orleans club. It is. said, however, that the game was against them in the latter, and that had it been played out they would probably have suffered defeat. The County Council will hold an adjourned meeting this evening at 7 o'clock, when the business left over at the last meeting will be disposed of.' Amongst other things, the applications of the Boatman's companies, for the formation of roods will be dealt with. The tender of Mr D. J. M'Kenna, for No. 2 section Big River track, has been accepted by the- County Council, the amount being £235. Mr James Stevenson is about to visit England, and has sold his auctioneering and sharebroking business to Mr H. O. Hankin, who will take possession immediately. Mr Hankin is one of the oldest residents of Reefton, and is known to be a thoroughly practical man. In his hands we have no doubt the business will be speedily and largely extended, and we cordially wish him all success in his new vocation. Mr M'Kay of the geological depart* ment, returned on Saturday from an inspection of Boatman's, and speaks in ; high terms of the great resources of the district. He obtained some excellent specimens of antimony from the Welcome. He speaks of some singular boulders that are found at Little Boat- §" — 's, one half or thereabouts consist of •tz, muoh of it highly auriferous; and other half of antimony. l In his opinxwix £hHeat some time or Other became detached from the Welcome reef, though it is a mere matter of surmise, their origin not being distinctly traceable. He considers the coal obtained at Little Boatman's as good as any procurable in the Inangahua district. The Welcome mine occupies exactly the same position with regard to the rocks that that of the Wealth of Nations does, and the Specimen Hill to that of the Golden Treasure both being on the same line. At the base of the coal measures in Boatman's he found cement, corresponding in every respect to that at Lankey's Gully. Tnis is known to be auriferous, but no one has yet had the courage to test it in earnest to a Bufficient extent to ascertain its value. He speaks very hopefully of it proving a good sluicing district, when attention is paid to this branch of mining industry, as the wash he met with was surface gravel, and will probably be poorer but less patchy than these. He thinks that when properly tested it will prove highly payable. Altogether his report on this, as on other parts of the district, seems likely to be of a most encouraging nature, and it is only a pity that the fetters of red-tape attached to Government officers prevent him from being more communicative as to the results of his visit. He will hand his report in on his return to Wellington, and we shall take the earliest opportunity of obtaining a copy from the Government geologist for publication. He leaves for Langdon's lease in the Grey to-day, of which locality he will make a cursory inspection before his return. We have to acknowledge the courtesy of the General Government Printer for a copy of the " Crown Lands Guide, ."• o. IV," published by the authority of the Hon. the Minister of Lands. The work contains a deal of valuable information relating to the crown lands of the colony, and the operation of the law relating thereto, and no settler or person desiring to become such should be without a copy of it. The book contains a well executed map of the Middle and i x orth Island, and the whole is published at the low figure of 6d, and may be had of the General Government Printer, and all booksellers. Young ladies anxious to enter thti matrimonial lists are recommended to peruse the following advertisement, clipped from the New Zealand Herald :— "Matrimonial.— A single gentleman, North of Auckland, age about 30, blessed with good looks, and, more important still, an excellent constitution, attributable to working hard and never from his birth having touched intoxicating drinks or tobacco, seekß a life partner. He is not insensible to comeliness of form, but is mainly anxious that his wife should be a Christian lady and a Protestant. His references are to well-known clergymen of the Church of England. He has possessed himself of a few thousands of pounds through his industry. -Photo, and all particulars at Hannaford s Agency. Inviolable secrecy assured." - The Southland Times of a late date says :— The other day adaughterof Mr Oronl, Woodlands, had a rather startling experience of machinery, which Will probably make her more careful in future. Ifr appears that she was nursing the baby of the family, and went out to where a horse-

power was at work cutting chaff. Ignorant of the risk, and no douty thinking it would b^ something novel, she sat down on the connecting shaft between the power and chaffcutter, wljich was running at high speed. The conj^que^ft was that I her skirts were rapidly twjsted up, and she was thrown round with the shaft in an. alarming manner several times before the horse could be stopped. She stuck to the baby, and singular to say, kept it unharmed. She was considerably scratched hen&lf by contact with the ground, and will probably eschew hone-powers in future. In the State of Ohio there resided a family consisting, of an old man of the name oftßeaver, and his four sons, who 'had often laughed to scorn the advice of a pious.&ough very edeentric minister who resided in the' same town. It happened that one of the boy* was bitten by a rattlesnake, and was expectea to die, when the minister was sent for in great haste. On his arrival he found the young man very penitent, and anxious to be prayed with. The minisj^r, calling on the family, knelt down and^prayed in this wise— ? • O Lord, we jjaittk ijThee for, rattlesnakes. fWt thanff^efe "BSsiuseV rattlesnake has bit Jim. tVe pray Thee send a rattlesnake to bite «tolm ; send one, to bite Bill ; send one to bite Sam ; and O Lord, send the biggest' of Thy rattlesnakes to bite the old mail, for nothing but rattlesnakes will ever bring the Beaver family to repentance." : %, An Exchange says : — "j& new cure for the ills which farmers suffer by the small birds has be^n discovered! and ftie discovery should be placed on record ' with those of Harvey, Newton, ;or Edison. A gentleman of keen observation noticing that it took but a short period of whisky drinking to subjugate man, was struck with the idea that under its exhilarating influence poultry would soon succumb. No sooner had the idea struck him than he put it in practice— on his neighbors' fowls. The " poison " was administered through the medium of soaked wheat. It was as successful as could be w#U antic w pated, for shortly after its reception by the deluded poultry they exhibited a variety of attitudes that were comical enough, though derogatory to their dignity. After exhibiting every phase of intonitation the depraved creatures lay down, and, unfortunately for their owners, died. The idea is, that if whisky-soaked grain will kill poultry, it should certainly cut off sparrows, green linnets, etc., in the bloom of their youth. We may mention that by whatever means the end is accomplished, a great majority of farmers are determined that they will not submit to the annually recurring ravages of small birds. "Ananalysisof Hansard's debates (English) has been made, which is extremely useful at a time when the Prime Minister is gathering his forces in order to attack " obstruction, "^^Thia analysis shows tluA during 'the lost two year* tA^#&& -*sh*half of the time of the House of Commons has been occupied in listening to speeches from Liberals ; while a- quarter of the time has been tilled by Home Rulers, and less than a quarter by Conservatives. In 1880 there were in "Hansard" 4171 columns of Liberal speeches, 1548£ of Home Rule speeches, 2086 columns of Conservative : while in 1881 the Liberals spoke 6315 columns, the Home Rulers 4440J columns and the Conservatives 3286 columns. During the two years 1880 and 1881 there were spoken altogether 21,846 columns, of which 10,486 wtxe spoken by Liberals, 5989 by Home Rulers, and 5371 by Conservatives. It is quite clear, therefore, says the European Mail, that the great offenders in the way of obstruction by speaking are not the Home Rulers, and still less the Conservatives, but the Liberals themselves. The Wanganui Herald's Parliamentary correspondent is of opinion that the House is divided as follows : — 4< Ministerialists 42 ; Macandrew and Montgomery party, 37 ; Grey corner, 12. The Post says that at the opening of Parliament His Excellency the Governor was attired in the Windsor uniform, and ' decorated with the Order of St. Michael and St. George, the long flowing mantle, composed of bright blue satin, lined inside with scarlet, hanging from his shoulders. The train was borne by his Excellency's little son, who was dressed in a knickerbocker suit of rich blue velvet, with scarlet stockings to match the robe. The ceremony of ordaining J. O'Neill, a Roman Catholic priest took place at St. Joseph's Church, Dunedin, on the 16th instant, the church being crowded. Bishop Moran, in addressing those present at the conclusion of the ceremony, stated that the ordination was the first one which had taken place in this p>rt of the world, he . also intimated that the day was the twenty-sixth anniversary of his own consecration. The Registrar-General has issued two tables showing certain resultß of the census of last year as to the conjugal condition and education of the people of New Zealand, from which . ate extracted the following particulars. Unmarried men in the Colony number 185,941 ; husbands, 73,201 ; widowers, 4964. Unmarried females number 140,184 ; wives, 72,804 ; widows, 7296. The proportions to every 100 living are, among mjdes, 70 '39 unmarried ; 27*73 husbands ;I'BB widowers. Among females, 63*64 unmarried ; 33 "05 wives: 331 widows. Sx wives are classed as under 15 years, or of unspecified age. In respect to adulation, 192,979 males and 151,288 females can read and write; 13,180 males and 14,158 females cannot read ; and of 1363 nales and 862 females the degree of education ia un " known. The proportions f) eveiy 100 of males aye, 73-31 read an* write; 501 read only: 21-68 cannot read ; and to eveiy 100 of females, 68P4 read and write ; 6-39 read only ; 24 ff cannot read. The persons above the ag< °f fi ve y ears who cannot read number 15,971 males and 14,141 females ; or in lie proportion of 7 91 females to every IOC