PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1882.

Inangahua Times, Volume VII, Issue 1194, 13 November 1882, Page 2

PUBLISHED T RI-WEEKLY. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1882.

The eclipse of the sun was plainly visible at Reefton, on Saturday last, tho being beautifully lino and favourable for observation. The cdipa'i woul.l bo Annular on the meridian or MeUn : ;;ia, but S3 seen from New Zealand only a portion of the sun's disc was oUicurod. The conjunction is of litt.^ n ia in'ercst . but on I'm 7th Tj::r.uyi:.-j [ j?ext, Venus will 1.0 in the - L oaitiou oi the ,p".gon on Saturday, and cross the face of

the sun, The transit, however, will qom- 1 nienco before sun-rise in New Zealand, the middle of the eclipse being .at 4.34 a,, in. and .the last contact at 7.42. j The conceit on Friday evening last for j the joint benefit of .the hospital and Austrian Band proved one of the most enjoyable and successful gatherings held in Reefton for a long time past, and the promoters and conductors alike, are to bo congratulated upon tho result. The hall was well filled, and the concert opened with a well selected overture by the Black's Point Band. Jf the performance of the A ustrian Baud it is unnecessary to say more than that ii proved a genuine treat. Miss Austin sang "The Cottage I by the Sua" very sweetly and was warmly i applauded. The violin solo "Last Rose iof Summer," with variations, by Dr ; Collins, was a surprisingly clever perI formance and proved a very agreeable i feature in tho programme. Mr Palliser, ! who had been invited to assist on the occasion, proved a most valuable acquisition. He certainly possesses an enviable voice, and the taste and ability to uae it ito the beat advantage, which he .was the more readily able to do by the excellent pianoforte accompaniment of Mrs Collins. Mr Wash was in good voice and Bang .with taste and judgment. Miss Moeller sang with the pleasing facility and sweetness which characterises all her vocal efforts. Mr Cooper was very happy in recounting his reasons for " Joining the j Army," and gave a further proof of his ready adaptability to comic singing. He fairly brought down the house. This concluded a reaHy enjoyable evening's amusement, and we can only give expression to the general regret that Beefton audionces should have so few such opportunities of passing an agreeable hour, omething like £20 was taken at the door. Our cablegrams this morning announce a most extraordinary disaster to the magnificent orient boat, Austral, 'he vessel was taking in coal in Neutral Bay, Sydney, and during Friday night last sank at her moorings in 45ft of water. The disaster is attributed to carelessness. The ustral is one of the latest additions to the Orient Company's fleet, and one of the largest and grandest boats that ever visited Australian waters. Her internal fittings and general equipment are almost without a parallel in naval architecture, and the damage which must be done to the vessel during its submergence, however brief, will be incalculable. It is announced by advertisement in another column that a public ball will be held in the Oddfellows Hall, this evening. The music will be provided by tho Austrian Band, and this of itself should prove a great attraction. The ball will be under private management, and there is no doubt whatever that it will be very largely attended. We are glad to observe that a public meeting has been convened by his Worship the Mayor of Greymouth, to take steps to form a Railway League there. We some little time ago referred to the surprising richness of the stone being obtained from the Guiding Star and Ked Queen leases, Mokihinui, Westport, and since then a parcel of quartz from the former mine has been sent to Dunedin for a trial crushing. The atone Was crushed there on Thursday last. The quantity sent was 7^ cwt. which gave the magnificent yield of sozs Bdwt of gold, or an average of 15oz per ton. The stone was not what is termed specimen stone, but is said to represent a fair average of the reef, which runs from Ift to 2ft in thickness. The same character of stone has since been broken out from both liases and samples have been shown in Keefton, and the trial just made fully confirms the opinion expressed by us some weeks back that such stone has been rarely seen in the Inangabua. With this solid evidence of the great wealth which our Westport neighbours have in their Mokihinui reefs it; is to be expected they will use every effort to utilise it as early as possible. beef ton was very busy on Saturday evening last, and encouraged, no doubt, by the fineness of the night a large crowd of persons paraded Ihe street. The various hotels in town were tilled with thirsty patrons md on all sides the evidence of prosperity and contentment were unmis takeable. One of the not least important events of the evening, at least so it appeared. wa3 the opening of Mr Dawson's new billjard room. The room is splendidly finished, and with its appointments is quite equal to anything of the kind to be found in the large metropolitan towns. The room was crowded throughout the evening, and the two new billiard tables were patronised to such an extent that ten tables would hardly have met the demand. This addition to Dawson's Hotel promises to be a great popular resort. The returns for the Golden Fleece Extended Company came to hand on Saturday last, and created a very lively feeling among the resident shareholders. The figures are given elsewhere and show that the average of past crushings has been fully maintained. The Imperial Company will probably have a general cleaning up to-day, or tomorrow. We understand that after the experiences of the last two or three fires in Reefton, an effort is to be made to reorganise the local fire brigade. As the first ■■tap in this direction a canvass of the 1 -'own will be made to-day for funds with \v ■:!?!; to purchase a new fire-bell. A-.i extraordinary telegram comes from \ lik/i'.1 ik/i'. Xl is stated that an animal j ■ ■ :\ •; v/Wi 'hi'ir, and making a none like ■' "I ' wyb)'/ v,"<; ■v-;j? _ : V-y five persons' " 1 ' v : '' •■ ■:■]' "!' a ■ roles ?o''e.' on I \ ; -i'- ; la'llaT 1 , from v eal locks, j . Jiij i". the thud creature see:i resembling ; hairy man, j

An exciting scene occurred at the Thames the other day. Asa small mob of cattle were being driven through the I town one of them charged into the bar of Pacific Hotol, and chased Mr Harrop traveller for Messrs Clark and Sons, from tho bar into the back, but Mr Harrop managed to escape. The bullock then made for Colonel Fraser, who was standing with his back to the animal, quietly writing a memorandum. Luckily a chair intervened, which the bullock caught on his horns, thus saving the colonel from serious injury. He, with others in the room, managed to escape. Beyond the breaking of two chairs, the bullock did no damage. On proceeding up Shortland, the same animal charged into the Imperial Hotel. He put his head through a plate-glass door, and then went out again doing no other damages.