The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TKI-WEKKLY. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1882.

Inangahua Times, Volume VII, Issue 1202, 1 December 1882, Page 2

The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TKI-WEKKLY. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1882.

The down mail-bag from Reefton to Westport (writes our Lyell correspondent), was lost from the coach on Tuesday last. Lines, the driver, missed the bag on reaching the Junction. The bag was subsequently picked up and returned to Gallagher Bros, and was later on forwarded by them to its destination. The reef was struck in the Croesus mine, Lyell, on Saturday last. It was met with in sinking the winze, and is about 2ft thick and shows good gold. I am informed that arrangements have been made for placing a ten-head battery on the mine. The Golden Fleece Extended Company had a general cleaning up at the battery on Monday last, the result being in every way satisfactory. The quantity of stone put through was 396 tons, which gave the splendid yield of 5780z. 16dwts. of melted gold, or tn average of something like loz. 9dwts. per ton. The gold was brought to town in the afternoon and lodged in the Bank of New Zealand. Mr Trennary expects to be able to complete another small crushing between now and Christmas. The whole of the workings in the mine are in capital order, but the want of another rock-drill is keeping the work back very much. The drill, however, is on board the St. Kilda, schooner now overdue at Greymouth, so that its arrival may be very shortly looked for. An order has also been sent to Melbourne for another air-compressor, is the compressor now at work w^ll he fully occupied in keeping the two rock borers going, and until the arrival of the second compressor the diamond drill cannot be set going. The steam lathe has been completed and is found to be of immense service. The Heather Bell anniversary ball last evening proved an unqualified success, the attendance being large, and the general arrangements perfect in every respect. The room was very tastefully decorated, the artistic disposition of ferns evergreens and flowers harmonising well with the varied magnificence of the ladies costumes. It is needless to say that the music by the Austrian Band was perfection, and made those dance who never danced before, and those who dance, dance the more. The supper supplied by host K;iter was of a most recherehf description, and was served up in a style which did the fullest credit to the caterer. Dancing was kept up with great animation until the small hours of the morning, the compauy separating with mutual congratulations upon the success of the occasion. The weights for the Inangahua Cup, and other chief events of the forthcoming races, will be declared this evening at the office of the secretary of the club. Mr-Thos. Bruce, who left Reefton in March last on a visit to his birthplace, NewcastJe-on-Tyne, returned to Greymouth on Tuesday last, and wa3 expected to reach Reefton last evening. Mr Travers and Mrs were passengers to Nelson by yesterday morning's overland coach. We remind the public of the meeting to be held in the Oddfellows all, this evening, re East and West Coast railway. Mr R. J. Johnstone has completed his detail survey of the whole of the surface works for the Globe Company, and the plans have been lodged at the office of the company. Mr Johnstone has performed the work with the efficiency and care of a thoroughly practised engineer and surveyor. Yesterday being St. Andrews Day, was observed as a holiday by the Banks, but beyond this but little court was paid to j the memory of the patron saint of Scotland. The new underground mining rules have been printed, and in conformity with the requirements of the " Regulation of Mines Act, 1874" broad-sheet copies have been lodged with the legal managers of the different mining companies, and as soon as the rules have received the sanction of the Government they will be printed in pamphlet form, and every miner engaged in work is bound to receive a copy and make himself conversant with its contents. If strictly enforced the observance of the rules will greatly diminish the risk of accidents and rob underground mining of half its terrors. The half-yearly meeting of the Globe Company vis lis;id at Uoilhy'a Hotel, on. Wednesday last, when the reports and balance-sheet vmto ryueivod and adopted.

It was cfeeWetf to increase the number of directors fromrfive to seven, and Mr M. Levy, Reefton, and Dr. Wattless, Dunedin, were elected to the vacancies. The shareholders instructed the directory to proceed a.t once with the erection of a thirty-head battery. At the half-yearly meeting of shareholders in the Wide-a-Wake Company, held on Tuesday last, the following directors were elected for the ensuing six months :— Messrs Clifford, Wynn, Higgins, Roberts, and Stirling. It is reported in Renfton that Messrs J. Dee, T. Rowlandson, and J. Hamilton, old Weat Coasters, located in Launceston, Tasmania, have gone on a viait of inspection to the Cape diamond tiulds. We understand the farmers in the Grey Valley are experiencing a difficulty in procuring farm laborers, all the old hands having been drawn away to the mines here and at the Lyell. A meeting was hell at the Reefton Athenaeum ou Wednesday evening la3t for the purpose of considering the advisibility of reorganising the tire brigade and of inquiring into the condition of the apparatus. About fifteen persons were present, which certainly did not indicate any very consumiug interest, in the movement. The chairman having indicated the business to be brought forward, a number of questions were asked, which elicited the fact that there is a sum <>f between £60 £70 due to the night watchman for wages, besides other small liabilities. Mr Jacobsen wished to know how the tire bell had been broken, and how it was that the fa.:t was kept from the knowledge of the pui-lia for such a length of time. The chairman said all that was known was that it was broken, but whether owing to a flaw in its construction, or to the action of the frost, or other cause, he was not aware. Mr Collinga commented upon the fact of the brigade having been allowed for a period of nine months past to fall into such a state of disorganisation. Mr Jacobsen said he had withdrawn from the brigade in consequence of tis action in regard to the night watchman. He had brought certain complaints against that officer, and instead of those complaints being allowed to be inquired into, or even answered, he was howled down by a lot of larrikins, and the wages of the night watchman were increased 103 a week. He had contributed £6 towards the siip- ' port of the brigade during the year, and if he was to be treated in that manner it was time the brigade burst up. Other members present expressed the opinion that a new fire-bell should be procured, and that the brigade should be thoroughly 1 reorganised, and it was decided to ask 1 that a full statement of the assets and liabilities of the late brigade be prepared and submitted to an adjourned meeting to be held on Monday evening. A committee wa3 then formed to collect : subscriptions for the purchase of a new fire-bell, and a number of names were submitted as joining members. Houae property in the northern suburb of the town was placed in great jeopardy at about noon on Wednesday last, in I consequence of the encroachment of a bush fire. An alarm of fire was raised and some hundred or so of persons rushed to the scene, and by their exertions the fire was beaten back and prevented from communicating to the houses in the vicinity. A good deal of fencing had to be torn down, but beyond this no dam \ge ' was done. About half an hour later the lire-engine wa3 taken leisurely to the sceue, and had a fresh tire occurred in the neighborhood during the afternoon wuuld have been available for service. i In our last issue wu published the re--1 port of Mr Inspector Hodgson, upon the examination of the children of the Catholic School, Reefton. From the I tables accompanying the report it appears that 57 children were present at the examination, of which 62 passed in the I different standards as follows sth I standard : four presented, three passed ; 4th standard : eleven presented, eleven : passed ; 3rd standard : seventeen pre--1 sented, sixteen passed : 2nd standard : \ twelve presented, ten passed ; Ist standard i thirteen presented, twelve pa3sed. This, I it must be admitted, is a singularly sueI cessful result, and the more so as the I school is not under the terrorism, so to I speak, of periodical examinations, and i the teachers are in a great measure secure j from the consequences which would I ordinarily attach to unsuccessful examinai tious under the state system. It will no doubt be very gratifying to the parents of the children attending the school to learn upon Mr Hodgson's authority that sucn an efficient system of instruction is being pursued, and it must be no less pleasing to Mr O'Brien, the master, and Mrs M'Kenna, the mistress, that their scholars have comu out of the ordeal with such pronounced credit. The largest sheepowner in Texas is a woman known as the " Widow Callahan." I j Her sheep, more than 50,000 in number, are divided into flocks of 2000 head each. An English diamond merchant is reported to have offered £400,000 for the Regent diamond, now the property of the French Republic. It was bought 150 years ago from an Englishman for £125, 000. It is difficult, the Spectator is of opinion, to interest Englishmen in Peru, but the amount of human suffering now endured there should not pass without notice. The Peruvian either cannot or will not form a government able to conclude peace with Chili, and their leaders are commencing a patriotic but useless guerilla war. The Chilians, who cannot sufficiently occupy the territory to govern it, endeavor to suppress this war by severity. According to the Panama Star, the Chilian generals have issued orders that every town which gives shelter to thoguerilleros

shall be burned, and they certainly are levying fines by threats of tire. ><> quarter is given on either side, ami prisoners who have submitted are shot. Trade has, of course, ceased ; even agriculture is interrupted ; and it is Btated that the wealthy in Lima are pawning jewels to obtain the necessaries of life. No hope appears to be entertained of a cessation of the conflict, which will throw Pern back into utter barbarism, the wild tribes, which can retreat into the forest, being too strong for the few whites who will be left. No European Power can interfere, and the Americans are not prepared for a naval war. with Chili. The , Chillians, though victorious, must be gradually exhausting ? themselves ; and war, conducted for years in such a way, is enough to brutalise a whole people. A cabman in Sydney went in to get a drink the other day* When he had liquored ht. found his cab in possession of a number of larrikiui| They drove off, he overtook them, and! there was a scuffle in which he lost his purse, containing about £3, and a gold w»t-h. The larrikins tliuu made off with, the cab, which, on the publication of our^ktest Sydney exchanges some days after the event, had not been heard of. The Egyptian loss during the late war is estimate* at 5000, that of the British loss than 300.