The Inngahua Times, PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1883.

Inangahua Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1231, 9 February 1883, Page 2

The Inngahua Times, PUBLISHED TRI- WEEKLY. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1883.

Whatever may be the issue of tho misunderstanding which has arisen between the County Council and Mr W. H. Hobby, in reference to the supply of a diamond drill, it is to be hoped that no time will be lo3i in getting the machine on to the ground and at work. It is just about twelve months since the Hon. Mr Eolleston visited the Inaneahua, and it wa^ then that the Council entered, or was said to have entered, into the contract for the supply of the drill,, and taking this to be the case we are nos able to congratulate either side upon the celerity of the negotiations. However, the machine has at laat reached Greymouth, and whatever bungling may have been made with reference tc its purchase, the evil will be, in our opinion, only aggravated by now quarrelling over it; and so further delaying the t^st of its usefulness, from what we can understand, the order which was given by the Council to Mi* Hobby was unrestricted. He was charged with procuring one pf tho most serviceable anach%s, dujs regard boing paid to the kind of work to be performed, and the character of the country. As is well known, theie are upwards of a dozen different kinds of drills, the price of each varying according to size, capacity, an 4 general effectiveness. The one in uleftly the GoYernmejiti at the Thames, is what is caUeia^wQ think, a " No. 8 machine," and costs abbut £1,500, and ia capable of boring 1,000 feet, but is edfcftidered defective in re--garil to whMt is • technically termed '•-the feed," vfeieli is the mechanism by which the drill is kept .firmly to the boring surface; With a knowledge of all these foots before him, Mr Hobby, selected what .is' 1 known as a " No. 4 machine,'' which is the best class turned out The drill is larger than that imported by the Government, stronger iv every way, will bore up to 2,000 ft. r alfd is fitted with what is caned»^..^'hydi'aiilicfeed,'' a newfy paientol^ntriyance^ whereby many' imyonsrip advantages are secured. Further 'jjjwin this, the machine is so constructed thai u> can be quickly taken, to pieces, and the whole of the parts are easily portable, which is an advantage the "No. 8 .drills "...do not possess. As tho drill will have . heavy work to perform, duplicates of all tho wearing parts were absolutely' indispensable, as well as an extra suppl jof diamonds, otherwise, upon the. Jirst, breakage it would have been thrown out of gear, and have had to remaua. idle initiifac-similica could be obtained from the manufacturers.'-- ! These extra parts, of course, siveil tho first/eosfc considerably, but it can hardly be.ook-; tended that the expenditure is un- • warranted or unnecessary. ""Tina then as we are iirfoaned, h the cause, of the misttoderstand.ing,'-and assuming that o,ur iiifommirion/.is \oorjrect, wp. must confess we are unas« to pc in it v.ory much to •corankin 6£ ; Hf Hobby is ■prepdi-ca.^byKoverM sLW that the charges made are strictly in accordance with the manufacturer's printed schedule of prices, and they are precisely ihe same us any other person would have to pay for the machine. Whether the machine is too good, and consequently too expensive for the means at the disposal of the Council, is another question, and one which ought to have been duly weighed before the order was given, and this seems to be where the shoe pinches. The Council expected to have to pay £1,500 or £1,600 for the plant, whereas they are called upon suddenly ;for something over £2,000 and arc thrown out of their calculations. If. however, the facts are as represented, and the machine is so very much superior to the diiUa. owned by the Government, there is little us a of haggling over the- purchase. now, fit the eleventh hour. We do" not desire to have it luuderstood that we are championing Mr, .Hobby's.. cause upon a mere ex parte statement of the facts, but the question being, one of considerable public importance, all wo seek to point out is, that if the Council are satisfied- they are receiving full value for the additional charge, the interest of the community will hardly suffer by the close of the bargain.

Mails ;for the • Australian Colonies, United' Kingdom, and Continent of Europe, via Melbourne, per Te Anau, close at the Bluff on Friday 9th, instant at noon. We are glad to learn that Mr Lee shows signs of improvement, though the delirium otill continues in a modified form. A favourable .change is looked for daring to-day. The .crushing of the Golden Fleece Extended was finished at about 12 o'clock on Wednesday night, the result boing 3260z. of retorted gold from 275 tons of stone, which, it is- fieedleßs: to say.-is'S splendid return. In the Magistrate's Court on Wednesday morning Lost the case of Hankh: v. Quinlau was again further adjonrnod, owing to the absence of. a matovial witness. Sovoral other civil cases were olso adjourned. We have been asked what ha 3 become of tho Reefton Railway" League, but as we are not good at coitundruiiis we pass tho question onto the public in order that aomo of our ingenious readers may supply, the required solution. All we can ascertain 0:1 the subject is that the League at present has » either a "n'oQse a 'nume or a Habitation. " Yesterday was the opening day of the Chinese New Year celebration. The fact was duly announced at daylight by the

explosion of an unlimited number of i crackers, and throughout the Jay troops 1 of dusky |.)lfgiim!» flockeJ in 'from ally,] directions to the shrine of Kma Ye;:. -^ The slaughter of fov.-'s ami pic;:s far tho < occasion has buan very extensive, and for- i one weeU at least John will enjoy peace and plenty. Tvua to the adage that "Two of a tvatfo can never agree," tho -rival coach proprietors on the Reefton— Capleston road have corns to open warfare, and on' Tuesday Use one was proceeded .against by the. other for .assault, and fined 10s and costs. The defence- to tho action was provocation, defendant alleging that his opponent persistently blocked the road whenever he yot an opportunity. The Magistrate, hi giving judgment, said defendant had r.o right to take- the Jaw into his own hand. It was an offence punisliabla on summary conviction for a driver to interfere with traffic, and' vehicles were bound to respect the rule of the road. If a leading driver refused to allow room to pas 3 when .called upon to do so he was guilty of an offence, and liable to fine or imprisonment, and this being so, aggrieved parties should take the proper VBBMdjr. As the roads in this County are only serviceable for single traffic it is important that drivers should be made aware of the risk they run in this respect. Some twenty or thirty (Jiunese, hailing chiefly from Slab Hutt Creek, were summoned in the Magistrate's Court on Tuesday last for mining on 'the goldfields without miners rights. The (services, of an interpreter were required in tho cases, and Mr Ah Tong offered himsulf in that capacity. Before the cases were proceeded with, however, the int-.TjH-cter wished ilie amount of hia fee fixed, 3ayin<j that 10a 6d for each case, was the amount usually awarded. His Worship said that as there- wero over twenty cases, which together would not last more than an hour, 2s Gd for each cano should be sufficient, but Mrlnterprctei'iniimatod i.o tho. Bench that " unless ha was allowed osfov, each case he would decline a'ci." •Tii& Bench refused to accede to* this 3eirianri,' : .and ordered another interpreter to be sent for, but after a shori conaultftiwttrJ :Mv Interpreter Ah Tong^piUTiod, the .day, arid was allowed the stipulated oV'Tho defaulters were then brought forward j one •by one, and charged with, mining without a license. The defence was that the offenders were " new chums," had no 'money and generally, didn't savee. 171 other cases the more specious preien^of scarcity of water was set up, but; in all, save a few^ instances where the defendants -had -taken, out rights directly they were notified; the Bench mulcted the riofaulttra in fines and costs ahinij riling to iIC; each, i;i default, one week imprisonment. Tl:e imesAyero allipaid. •-. -..'-. • .A:! "' We- republish in another column from the "Colliery Guardian. " a leltcv ..re--ferqng to the luangahua quartz mining industry. The "Colliery Gun ilian " i 3 an influential weekly journal puftisiieiUu London, and devoted to 'tlie' uvm " ianfl ' coal industries. In view or ike iao-t that a considerable amount of Ejiglish; *capiial is invested in the mining industry at Boas, the publication of the letter in question in a paper of such high standing as tho "Guardian," should "have a good^efllßfefi 1 ' more particularly arid as the writer's name is, we understand, well and -favorably known in mining circles at Hoin.e. Wo are indebted to the courtesy of Mr G. W. Moss, of Greymouth, for a lile of the paper in question. Tho Combination Company . jwV a capital house again, on Wednesday, ever ning, when "Uncle Tom 'a Cabin" was produced. Tho performance was a great success , throughout, the whole of the characters being well sustained. T3ro:> piece for last night was "The Guvnor," which had boon anxiously looked for.. The hall was crowded, and tho performance prnvedjtliat the representations of the piece had not been at all overstated. The audience wore kept in a continual roar of laughter frovo the opening of the lirst to the close 'of tho last! act. Scores of persons wore unable to obtain seats, and had to return to their homes. In order, however, to meet tho disappointment thus occasioned,, the management have decided to repeat the peie'e on Saturday (to-morrow) .'evening, when we have no doubt the room will be again equally crowded. For to-night is annouijceu the sterling drama of "Rip "Viu Winkle," in connection with- whirli it may brj said Jaffcra'tti haa made his jiamo hnwortal. Tho Pari3 Roppel ridicules the unveiliiv.^ of the statue of the Prince Imperial by the Prince of Wales, and stigmatised the English as "a herd of catilc," and the Engiish array, as an army of women, and other journals join in these satirical remarks. ' « The claitn3 made upon the Victorian Government by the medical gentlemen connected with the recent alloyed, smallpox case at Hamiltou, hav.e been referred for report to Drs Sliiols, .Hewlett, M'Croa and M'Millian. The fees claimed wore as follows 4 :— D'r ' Wilson, Li?6s \'dV V. Rrown, L 21 0; Dr riummor, L 157 10m. The medical board re ornmendecl paymoufc of tlie : following amounts, which they consider " liberal allowance* " :— LIOO, Ll5O and Ll2O respectively. The Mavuuis of Quoonsberry, socr.king l'eoently at the opening ol' ji "snWsc'i. o," fch c Secular U/iion at Stof'sp^ii;, .said he had been excluded from the House of . Lords. for his opinions. This reproiionlati<m in his own case had led to its being said, that he was an atheist and denied the existe'ueo of God. On these grounds alone, aud without being allowed- to reply, he was expelled from the . House of Lords, whereas, on the contrary he being an agnostic, had never expressed an opinion as to the being of a God, believing thel problem too abstruse to be solved by manf.

in Iris present siate. It was not widely s known that he was .e^c!u«ied from the "i Km-ie of Lrtrdd ow^ui^of hjs^eculiv^j k-!ie'f. He afiould, Ji^vover, t*d? e?ev&\ J <»rr<f)rtnniry r until iexegn-ineil tyt®^. ,J that House, to remiri'd ijo-pu^lj)^^ "S ."Mt, and to call the^t^^ioW thenn- • .- justice- doiiq,vnot<mly to hiniuclf bub. to the cause whiciriie represented. (