The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHEDOTRI-WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 1885.

Inangahua Times, Volume X, Issue 1541, 29 April 1885, Page 2

The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHEDOTRI-WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 1885.

' The European political situation seems to be taking a new phase. The nndon 'limes publishes a telegram from its St Petersburg correspondent statins that the British Government have invited Russia i to refer the whole Afghan question to arbitration. This information is not as yet | confirmed, but it is quite in harmony . with th« peace-at -any- price policy of the Gladstone Government. The announce ■ ment is nevertheless startling, and unless i accompanied by Biich a condition as the 1 immediate withdrawal of the Russian oc- ■ cupsitinn of Penjdeh. it is hardly possible to swallow it without a certain 1 sense of humiliation ; but until the news is confirmed it is idle to refer further to it. On the other hand we have it that in St. Petersburg opinion prevails that war is inevitable, this noth withstanding that the Russian Press preaches the importance of peace. In the Houro of Commons Gladstone has moved for a war credit of £11,000,000, notice of which had " not " been given ; of course the interpolation «f the word " Mot" in the foregoing sentence makes an important difference, and we are left in the dark as to whether this is an additional vote for military purposes, cr whether it refers to the demand notice of which was given by Mr Gladstone at a previous sitting. At all events it will be for the public to read the telegrams in their own fashion, and draw their own conclusions The fact, however, that the Sydney Government are preparing for the worst will convey a meaning quite apart from the items to which we have previously referred. The Keefton Quadrill Assembly will hold their opening gathering in the Oddfellow's Hall to-morrow night. The ordinary fortnightly sitting of the Magistrate* and Warden's Courts will be held to-morrow. In the Warden's Court an important case — Beeche v. Fiery Cross C©., will come on for hearing. The action is one claiming damages for alleged interference with a registered water right. The adjourned ordinary meeting of the Inangahua County Council will be held a* the Chambers, Smith-street, to-day at 2.30 p.m. At a meeting of the directors of the Keep- it Dark Company, held on Monday evening, the regular monthly dividend of 1/6 per share was declared. An agency of the New Zealand Government Insurance Association has been established at Boatman's. A notification •n the subject appears in <mr advertising columns. Wo understand that the costs awarded in the' recent election petitition vase — Dawson and others v. Brennan, L 163105, were paid into Court yesterday. It is generally understood that Parliament will be summoned for the despatch of business in the first week in June, when the Government will ask far authority for £he expenditure of something approaching to- L 300,000 upon defence works in tfie Colony, The 4^o yards foot race between O'Loaghliu and M'Farlane came off on the race course yesterday, in the presence of a large* number of spectators. It,, had Ihien raining for ten or fifteen hours previously and the ground was very slippery, and as the men stripped a drenching rain was still falling. A good start was effected, M'Farlane starting off with the lead, which he maintained for about two thirds of the distance, when O'Longhlin put on a spurt, passed his opponent, -and won by six or eight yards. The race jwas a very hollow aflair, and was apparently a gift to O'Loughlin, who had been a strong favourite jn the betting. Edward Hankins, a widely known journalist, died suddenly at Auckland on Saturday last, aged 56 years. Deceased had been connected with the Press of the Colonies for over thirty years. In 1854 he, in conjunction with Mr (now Sir) Julius V«>gel, founded the Oven* and Murray Advertiser, in Victoria, and after continuing the paper jointly for some time, Mr Hanking retired from the partnership to assume the editorship of the then newly established Melbourne T unrh. After a short but merry career, however, the paper collapsed, and Mr H;mkins then became sub-editor of the jrrus, and after filling the position for Rome time, he assumed the editorship of the Melbourne Herald, then owned by Levy Brothers. After several other changes on the Victorian Press 3lr Han-

kins came to New Zealand, aud soon aftei made his way to the West Coast. At Hokitika he became the editor of tin Chronicle, the first paper published in Westland. On the breaking out of the Okarito rush he, in company with the late Mr Alex. Reid, proceeded thither and started the Okarito Observer. The venture not proving successful, he turned up shortly after at Westport, in time to take the editorship < if the Times, then newly established. His next change was te the editorship of the Charleston Herald, which he relinquished in 1868 or 1869, and returned to Efokitika t« edit the Daily Aw*, ttien just started by Mr D. Curie. Subsequently he became editor of the West Coast Times, changing next to a similar position on the Hakitika Independent, then to the Hokitika Evening Star. Having thus in turn edited fur a short time every paper published in Westland proper, he proceeded northward in quest of fresh "conquests." He then became editor of the Orey Argus and subsequently of the Star. Upon the establishment of the Orey Valley Times he became its first editor. He was later on at different times* editor of each of the Reefton papers. Still journeying northwards he had a short time as editor of the Buller Ne*>». Again at Nelsoa he in "turn edited^the Examiner, Colonist,and Dai'y Times. Our space will not permit following his journalistic career further, but it is pretty safe to say that there are net a dozen newspapers in the whole Colony, fr»m the must diminutive weekly "buster," to the largest and most influential daily paper, such as the Otago Daily Times, Auckland Southern Cross and New Zealand Times ihat he had not been editor of at some period. In his day he was* a singularly forcible leader writer, and wrote with asrnnishing facility, but his propensity for roving was incurable. He moved about with the restlessness of an insurance agent, and i was unable to resist the fascination of new places and new papers. No man in Press ! circles in the Colony was probably more | widely known, and his name, associated | as it is with the early history of the West Coast Prest, will ever be remembered with kindly feelings. The tender of Martin and party has been accepted for sinking a winze for the Inkerinan Company. The much wished for change in the weather took place during Monday night, | and during yesterday a large, quantity «f | rain fell. Water was greatly needed throughout the Inangahua, alluvial mining having been wholly, and quartz mm I ing ill great part, brought to & standstill ; owing to the failure of the supply. The ! batteries will now beahle to start afresh. j The point in dispute between the Russian and the English Governments (says the Pall Mall Gazette) is as fol | , lows : — The Russians say : " We take the i Turkomans and you the Afghans. Let us instruct our Commissioners to draw a boundary line that will, as far as possible, be south of the last Turkoman and north of the first Afghan. In drawing this frontier, however, some regard must be* had to wjonomical conditions. The Salor Turkomans who belong to us have from all times grazed on the fertile pasture lying to the south of Sarakhs and to the north of the mountain range which forms the only defensible frontier of Herat. Ftom this* region alsa they draw the salt without which they cannot live. If there is to Vie any peace on the Afghan frontier, our Turcoman subjects must keep their grazing lands and salt beds. We leave Afghanistan all the strategical advances, including both ends of all the passes. We only ask for the Turcomans the land without which they cannot live." Such, we believe, is the substance of M. Lessar's proposal, and on the surface it appears reasonable enough. A frontier drawn on these lines would fall eighty miles north of the first positiou where an army de^ fending Herat would take its stand. The total value of gold entered for export at the various ports in the colony from April Ist, 1857, to March 31st, 1885, amounted to £41,634,507, the number of ounces being 10,616,194. During the quarter ending March 31st 63,917 minces, valued at 1 255, 21 5, were entered for eiport, as compared with 62,281 ounces valued at £246,579 far the corresponding quarter of 1884. The West Coast shows a considerable improvement as compared with last year, the value of gold during the past quarter being 1125,887, as against £109,7.62 for the same quarter in 1884. Otago shows a decline of over £10,000, but the returns for Auckland and Nelson are the same as last year. . The P. and O. Company's steamer Mauillta, which ha* been taken by the Imperial Government as a cruiser, is thus described in a late issue of the Melbourne Argus :— " The Massillia, like the Valetta, is constructed entirely of mild steel. She is built on very handsome lines, and from entrance to delivery her model is the outcome of more than ordinary skill in draughting. There are four decks. The spar and main decks are steel from end to end, and are sheathed with teak. The lower and orlop docks have the usual stringers and longtitudinalities sheathed with pitch pine. The Massilia was built at Caird's yard, Green<»ck, and her dimensions are as follow : Length, 420 f t; beam, 45; and depth of hold, 36ft. When loaded to 25ft her displacement is 8733 tons, and her gross measurement is a fraction over 4908 tons. The Massilia waa built under special survey, and is registered 100 A 1 at loyd's. She was also constructed with regard to Admiralty requirements, and can at any time be utilisod far an armed cruiser or for a naval transport. She is good f«»r 17 knotswhen her wholeateaming strength is ;«ut forth, and it would take a very smart cruiser, Russian or otherwise, to walk round h<;r, or. run away from her. The superiority of the Ma^ilia to many of the newest fctoamships afloat consist

• in th« completeness of her equipment, t and in the possession of machiney and • mechanical appliances which are of the i , latest and ni«st improved design and ' construction. » The Otaga Daily Times says •■— Dunedin ' may now boast of being the first city in the Colony thai is in a state of defence, * the mounting of the guns at the Ocean ' Beach having been completed yesterday r by Mi T. B. Low (Public Works Depart ' ment), and Sergeant-major M'Kay, who 1 it may be mentioned received well-earned promotion when Colonel Reader was in * Dunedin by being sworn in as sergeantmajor in the Armed Constabulary. Messrs Lew and M'Kay proceed to-day ' to Taiaroa Heads to mount the guns t there, and it is expected this will be comi. pleted early next * week. The energy i which has been displayed in putting this place in a state of defence is highly com- ; mendable, and can be appreciated when it is stated that, should the occasion ' warrant such a proceeding, fire could be 1 opened on a hnstile cruiser at any moment. ' When the works at Taiaroa Heads are i completed Dunedin and Port Chalmers will be. in a position t* repel nn attack, as ! the laying down of torpedoes is the only werk which is as present proposed in addition to what has been done. On the advice of LoraWolseley, the intelligence department of the War Office has sent a circular to the various London newspapers pointing out that almost everything published in the papers in this country having reference to the Soudan is translated int«» Arabic, and eventually reaches the Mahdi. Perhaps the hint to exercise more caution was not altogether unwarranted. We are in an enemy's country, and yet the names of natives who come into our camp and wire valuable information to the General regarding the movements of the tribes and the position ef the Mahdi's forces are given in full, i With such a clue given, these men run in still greater peril of their lives, for the penalty of death is mercilessly dealt oiit to those who are discovered aiding the infidel. That there are secret agents at work in our midst and in the various European cities aiding the cause of the Mahdi teems to have been placed lately beyond doubt. — "Home News." In reference to a telegram published a day or two ago giving a rumor that Russia has designs on the Suez Canal, it is hardly necessary to point out that the object of blocking the Canal, wouM be to delay the despatch of English troops to India. The Russians, «f course, d« not use this route, as their soldiers are being sent via the Caspian. If the Canal were altogether obstructed so that vessels had to prwvwd to India via the Cape, it would mean a delay of at least 24 days. The distance from London to Bombay through th« I Canal is 6,332 miles, but via the Cape it j would be 11,220 miles. The canal is very narrow, and a sunken vessel would effectually impede its navigation for a considerable time. It is sure to be well watched by the English, however, and the Russians probably would fl&t jnd it easy to carry out the designs" attributed to thqin. The Auckland. Star says: —"It just strikes us that Auckland has heen treated a little cavalierly by the defence authorities. Isnhe safely of the collection of ruinous galvanised iron sheds at Port Nicholson to be considered, while the magnificent city of Auckland, with its immense wealth in property and bullion, is lying unprotected ? So far as the North Island is concerned at any rate, * Auckland is New Zealand,' and is deserving «f the first consideration." Rather rough on the metropolis, is it not ? For close confinement, want of air, sedentary habits and brain and nerve tire, trust in Hop Bitters (American Co.'s). Read