The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY, 6 1885.

Inangahua Times, Volume X, Issue 1506, 6 February 1885, Page 2

The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY, 6 1885.

In spite of the depression of the past year, and consequent relaxation of mining enterprise, the total gold yield of Inangahua for that period foots up to a respectable amount. The figures we give below are taken from the books of the different companies, and, therefore, as far as they go, may be accepted as correct. Returns from two of the companies we have been unable to obtain in time for publication to day. The amounts in each case are probably not large, hut together would make a substantial addition to the year's production. In the table given below no account is taken of the alluvial gold obtained in the district during the year, owing to the difficulty of obtaining the exact figures, but as there cannot be less than from 500 to 600 European and Chinese miners permanently engaged in that branch of mining, their aggregate earnings would further add largely to the sum total, which would not be at all over stated at 30,0000z5. for the year. The dividends paid during the year amount to L 31,650. This sum, relative to the gold produced, perhaps may not show well, but many of the producing companies have been paying off the ci >st of machinery during the year, and in this direction a large amount of the profits has gone. On the whole then there is room for congratulation upon the results achieved, and with the footing now obtained we may fairly look for a large increase during the current year. The following is the table referred to : —

The Ministerial movements for to-day are as follows : — The Minister of Mines will drive out to Boatman's at 9 a.m, and after visiting tlie mines there in company with tho Premier, will returr to Reefton. Upon the return of the visitors in the afternoon the}- will probably receive deputations upon local public matters. To

morrow, Saturday, will probably be devoted to visiting Black's Point and Crushington, and if time will permit the Premier will be invited to deliver an address in the Oddfellow's Hall to-morrow night. i An adjourned meeting of the Committee , appointed to make preparations for the public reception of the Hon. the Premier and the Minister of Mines was hell at Stevenson's Hotel on Wednesday evening, the County Chairman beiiiij in the chair. There were present Messrs Brennan, Menteath, Hindmarsh, Shepherd, Potts, Hankin, Stevenson, Lewis, M'Lauijhlin, Anderson, Connolly, Williams, Lee, Twohill, Caples and Roxborongh. Mr Hindmarsh was appointed Secretary. Tlie County Chairman and Messrs Menteath, Caples, Hankin and Hindniavsh were appointed a committee to prepare a statement of local affairs for presentation to Ministers. Tt was also arranged that the County Chairman, County Engineer, and Messrs Menteath M.H.R., Potts, Shepherd and Caples should drive out to meet the Ministerial party at Larry's Creek. Tt was decided also that the reception should take the form of a public banquet to the Ministers, to be held in Dawson's i HoteVon Friday (this) evening, at 10 p.m. and Messrs T. M'Laughlin, G. B. Shepherd, D. P. Anderson, H. G. Hankin and W. J. Potts were appointed a banquet Committee to make the necessary arrangements. The meeting then adjourned. Stone was struck in the perpendicular shaft of the Inglewood Company, Murray ■ Creek, on Wednesday last, at a depth of . 61ft. The reef has not yet been cut tliroujrli, so tli at nothing can be said of its richness for a day or two. By the . time the shaft is through the reef the angle of the underlie will give 100 ft. «f backs up to the present level. The reef already i hows very good gold and crushing from the upper level will be resumed on Monday next, there being about 200 tons of stone now in the paddocks. The cutting of the reef in the shaft is a most important event for the company, proving I as it does that the stone lives down to sHch a depth as to provide years of remunerative work for the battery, and in this respect the discovery will give a new J stimulus to mining enterprise in that part ) of the district. An inquest upon the remains of the youth .John Cressey, was held in the Court House, before G. C. Bowman Esq r J.P., Deputy Coroner, on Wednesday evening last. The miry light thrown upon the sad occurrence of the lad's death was that contained in the evidence of Andrew Nelson, a man employed at the Globe Company's works. He said that , at about 1 o'clock on the day in question he saw a box and basket floating down the river. He went to the edge of the river ' quickly and saw a body moving rapidly • down the stream, but could not tell 5 whether the boy was swimming or not. ' Hft endeavored to render assistance, but 1 was unable to do bo at that spot owing to snags, so he ran down to a clear spot but ! the body had disappeared. In his opinion the river was fordable. The jury brought in a verdict of accidental dn-wning, but added a rider to the effect that butchers should not allow boys to ride on the loading of pack horses. The body was subsequently handed over to the parents of deceased, and was taken to Ahaiira for burial. Great sympathy is felt for the parents, as the deceased was a most in telligent lad and a general favorite with the people. The County Chairman last night received a telegram from Mr Levestam, M.H.R., for Nelson, stating that, in company with Mr Field, he would reach Reefton this afternoon, and would address a public meeting in referenr-e to the East and West uoast railway. A public meeting has accordingly been convened for this evening, at 7.30 o'clock, at the Council Chambers. The people of the Grey Valley are preparing for the coming of Ministers, and j committees have beeu appointed at the i different places to meet the visitors and j represent local public matters. The un- j ' certainty of the movements of the Minis- j , ters is, however, proving rather perplexing, ! and preventing the people combining for t the purpose of tendering a fitting welcome. It is to be hoped, however, that the time at the disposal of the visitors will enable them to give our southern neighbors timely intimation of their approach, j and-ilso of visiting the different localities. I Our new Minister of Mines will find I much to interest him at Nelson Creek. The Government have a large direct interest in the Hochstetter water-race there, and it would be an undoubted advantage to Mr Larnach to know something of its character and magnitude, as also of the modus operand! of the workings. The Ahaura people are agitating just now for an extension of the race to River View, the effect of which would be to open up many hundreds, if not thousands, of acres of auriferous ground. The question is one which will presently have to be dealt with by the Government, and it would therefore be well for the Minister of Mines to know something about it other than can be obtained through the medium of official reports. It is probable, however, that Mr Menteath M.H R., will | accompany the Ministers through the j Grey Valley, and will no doubt see that the public requirements in that portion \ of the electorate are not overlooked. Mr R. J. Seddon M.H.R., for Kumara, i reached Reefton on Wednesday evening. ; He was met by a largo number of old I 1 West Coast friends and political admirers ; who accorded him an enthusiastic recep- i tion. As the doughty champion of , "miner's ri~hts " in the literal sense, it was to be expected that such a welcome would be accorded here t<< Mr Neddou, and we are sure he will everywhere j throughout the district meet with the '

same friendly greeting. Mr Seddon, at the request of the Government will accompany the Premier and the Minister of Mines in their southern tour, and it will be admitted that no better selection could possibly have been made. , One of the matters to be brought under , j the notice of the Ministers to-day is that of Hospital aid. The position of the | local committee is this : The whole of j the cost of hospital buildings in Reefton, j together with the expenditure upon i cleariugaud fencing the grounds has been borne by the public. The Government have not during the past twelve or thirteen years contributed a shilling towards the building fund of the Committee, the ; only aid received Win-: the ordinary subsidy upon the annual subscription for maintenance such as every other institution receives. In this respect Reefton occupies an exceptional position. The hospitals at Greymouth, Westport, and Hokitika have all been erected at the cost of the Colony, and the committee are rightiy unable to see why Reefton should be made an example of in this fashion. For a long time past the necessity of increased accommodation for indoor patients has been forced U[ on the committee, and can be deferrMno longer. They have accordingly nro^^flffl J JWepafeS' of aTnew wing to the present building, to cost about £420. This sum the Government | will be asked to advance, and in view of the fact that this is the first application o the kind made by the committee it will ii' » doubt be favourably entertained. Messrs Gallagher Bros will open a sale to-day in the Oddfellow's Hall, Reefton, of drapery, boots, etc., salvaged from the recent tire at Boatman's. The sale is unreserved. The reception comtnitttee appointed to receive the Ministerial party proceeded to Larry's crossing yesterday afternoon, and very shortly after reaching there the Premier was met and escorted back to Cronadun. Here a slight hitch in the programme occurred. According to telegrams I received on Wednesday last the Ministers were to be in Reefton yesterday evening, but it seems that subsequently, at the instance of Mr O'Conor, of Westport, the arrangement was altered, the Ministers to stop at Cronadun last night and "do " Boatman's this morning. Ie was represented to the Premier by Mr Menteath, M.H.R., and Mr Brennan County, Chairman, that this departure from the proj gramme would cause some public disappointment in Reefton, as, acting upon the intimation received previously, all arrangements had been made for a public recepI tion that evening. In this view of the case j the Premier, although evidently imncfcH ! up,expreßsedhiswillingnesstocontiniiethe j journey to Reefton. Mr O'Conor, however, in very bad taste, protested against this buiug done, and did all he could to thwart the wishes of the reception committee. It was, however, pointed out pretty plainly to Mr O'Conor by some of those present that he was guilty of great presumption in seeking to dictate to either the visitors or the committee as to what should or should not be done. The i Hon. the Minister of Mines shortly after arrived at Cronadun, having driven up in a separate conveyance, and after a short consultation a compromise was effected, I the Hon the Premier remaining at Cronadun, and the Hon. the Minister of Mines, with Mr Blair, Engineer-in-Chief, to proceed to Reef ton . The party accordingly reached here at about 9 p.m., a large cavalcade of horsemen, and a number of traps following. On reaching the State School, the building was brilliantly illuminated, aud the school children to the number of several hundreds were drawn up and gave three cheers for the visitors. j A torch-light procession was then formed, i and the City Hand having played the j National Anfheni, the procession started, j the streets being crowded with spectators. The fire engine decked out with lighted torches, wa* used as a moving arsenal in the procession, and all along the line of march pour«^ °ut unceasing broadsides of i rockets, Roman candlos, and other fireworks. Thte spectacle as the procession filed down SRiith street into Broadwa" was a very brilliajl one indeed and quite took the visitors by surprise, the opinion being freely expnjssed that it was one of the best witnessed in the tour. Reaching Stevenson's Hotel Broadway was crowded, and three cheers for the Hon the Minister <v Mines was called for by Mr J. Connolly, and responded to enthusiastically by the spectators. Mr Larnnch acknowledged the compliment from the box seat. He regretted much that the Premier was not present to witness the reception, but on behalf of himself and his collegues expressed his gratification at the welcome accorded them. He was deriraus of as much information as possible relative to the mining industry, and trusted that his visit would enable him to dietchnrce the duties of the office which he had the honor to hold with advantage to the Colony. (Cheers). In conclusion he again thfciikud them for the welcome accorded. Additional cheers followed, after which the visitors retired aud the proceedings of the day closed. As appropriate to the Ministerial visit to Reefton, we reprint the following from th# Nehun Mail : — Since writing on the endeavor that is being made in Reefton to m-ocure an alteration in the present mail contract in the direction of making it a tri-weekly service we have had the opportunity of gaining further information on the subject, and are so convinced, not only of the desirability, but of the feasibility, of bringing about the proposed change that we he hope to poo it receive the cordial support of the Oha>nber of Commerce and of the business men of Ntflsoii|individually ax well as. collectively. A far stronger ease indeed ] cau be made ont than was advanced at the Reefton meeting, from a report of ' which we quoted the other day, and that \ without making any such silly nsse!ti'>m n* that by a tri-\vi;«My service lictwoen Nelson and Kccf'oH (lie hitter could be brought within tv. n <la}s of Pun^im ■

iAt present there is an exceedingly ill- | arranged, rough-and-tumble sort of ,' service between Nelson, the Lyell, Reefton, and Westport, that might be thoroughly systematised and worked on a j satisfactory basis at an additional cost that would be a mere trifle when compared with the advantages to be gained, and actually, as well as comparatively, but a very small sum. The coach now leaves Belgrove at 11.30 on Mondays and Thursdays, and Reefton on the return at j 7 a.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays, and there is also a c»ach running four times a week between Westport and The Junction to meet that on the main line. " The Junction," it may be well to state, is almost equi-distant from Reefton and Westport, the distance from the former being 23, and from the latter, 28 miles, so that the mails from Nelson would reach both towns at nearly the same hour. Now it is proposed to convert this into a tri-weekly service fitting in with that between (ireymonth and Reefton, so that mails leaving Nelson, say. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, morning, wou!d arrive at Reefton and Westport at 4.30 p.m. the next day, and at Grey mouth at 3 p.m. on the day after, thus forming regular frequent, ayd expeditious communication between .Nelson and all the West Coast towns as well as the inland ones < n the route. But to render the service thoroughly efficient an alteration will have to be made in the running of the trains at this end. At present half the day is lost at Belgrove, whence, owing to the railway time table, the cwach cannot start on its inland journey until 11.30 a.m., as the train does not leave Nelson before 0.30. If the through service is to be made the most of, a train should leave here at 7.30 iv the morning, not stopping at any of the intermediate stations unless signalled to do so, thus avoiding a considerable waste of time in slowing down and getting up speed again every th^ee or four miles, and consequently the coach could get away by 0 o'clock, so obtaining two and a half additional hours of daylight, and every one who has travelled on New Zealand coach roads knows how precious is daylight, and how materially it shortens the journey in the matter of ti«ne. ''For tue Biood is the Ltfe." — CLARKE'S WORLD-FAMED BLOOD MIXTURE is warranted to cleanse the blond from all impurities from whatever cause arising. For Scrofula, Scurvy, Skin and Blood Diseases, and Sores of all kinds, its effects are marvellous. Thousands of testimonials. Sold in bottles, 2s. 6d. and 11s. each by Chemists and Patent Medicine Vendors everywhere. Sole Proprietors, Thy Lrvroxy and Mil land Counties Drug Co., Lincoln, England.

Company. Tons. Oza. Divis. Welcome 8447 8553 £17,250 Keep-it-Eark 9568 5715 12,000 Globe 8280 2483 Fiery Cross 2461 Inglewood 1792 1272 1,200 Inker man 1187 Phoenix 639 788 1,200 Golden Tre'eure 583 Specimen Hill 549 Hopeful 258 319 Oriental 225