The Inangahua Times. FRIDAY. FEBRUARY 12, 1886.

Inangahua Times, Volume XI, Issue 1665, 12 February 1886, Page 2

The Inangahua Times. FRIDAY. FEBRUARY 12, 1886.

Ailvnntage wss taken «*f Mr Lance's visit here t«» point nut to him »ht. efforts oow twine made \n Reef ton to open up a hone track with Christchurch via Cannibal Gorge. It was represented that the ooutract just let would carry the road through thts CauniUl Gorge, beyonn the boundary of the County, and that a further length of seven or eight tuilts of track would requiro to be constructed in the Ainuri district before through communicHtion ci»uld ho opened np. Mr Lance represents the Cheviot district in Parliament, and the Ainuri is therefore within his electorate. He fully recog nimd the advisability of the work referred to, but remarked that the Ainuri Road Board, or County, was not in a very flourishing financial condition. He silif getted, however, that the Ml facts of the cat* should be placed in Mr Menteath's hands, and he (Mr Lance) wilt co-operate with him and see what could be done in the matter. It was pointed out that the opening of the track was of as much importance to the Au>uri people as it was to ourselves, as it would enable them to send stuck to the West Coast market by a much shorter and more accommodating route than the Christchurch Hokitika one. Mr W. Cnmmings, secretary of the Reefton Bcho<»| <if Mines, has received a telegram from Prof* isor Black announcing that the chemicals ordered for the local institution have been landed in Dunedin from Home, and will he forwarded to Reefton about the 25th instant. Dr. Black also states that he will leave for the Wfest Coast on the Ist March. We are sorry to learn that Mr J. Reid, the well known sawmiller, at Ahaura. has suffered heavily by lire, the whole of his extensive and valuable plant and buildings having been completely eonsuined. It seems that the property being threatened by a bush fire in the neighborhood, Mr Reid set his men (h burn off a dangerous patch of bush near the mill. The scrub being very dry the flames spread with lightning, rapidity, soon getting beyond aH control, and running up a standing rat a tree close by. sent a shower of sparks in . the diecti«m <>f the mill buiHings. In* very few seconds the roof of the mill* house was seen to be on lire in several places, and the men being on hand, ttuc* keta <>f water weru quickly applied, but no sooner was the Hre quenched in one place than it burst out in another, the men being •nuafly overpowered and the large stripping shed, with all the splendid machinery accnmmulated during years was in soon a mass of flames. The fire also can in un icnted to the blacksmith's shop, and chaff cutting room, and these too quickly fell to the devouring element. The spread of the fire was so rapid that scarcely anything was saved, and besides the saw- milling plant, c^af cutting machinovy and buildings, a largo quantity of bay and chaff was also consumed. The property was entirely uninsured. Included in the loss was a young and valuable cattle oog, which in the early stage of the tire ran under one of the buildings for safety, but taring overpowered tlie animal was suffocated by the smoke before it could be rescued. The fir* occurred about 3 in the afternoon, and though Mr Reid himself and his workman were on the spot, and used every exertion, the work of destruction went on so rapidly that nothing they were able to <?o could check its progress, and the whole works were in the course of a few minutes reducud to a pilw of ashes Much of tho

machinery was almost branl new, and the plant was perhapsone of the most ctmplote »n the West Coast, and Mr Reid's loss cannot be much under tIOOO. A larg* stock of dressed tim'wr, and the men's huts were fortunately saved. Nothing daunted by his heavy loss, Mr Reid lias a large staff of men employed re -erecting the buildings and restoring the plant, and in the meantime, his second mill at Devery'a Terrace has been got in thorough working order, and timber will l>e turned out therein sufficient qu-tntity pending the restoration of the Ahaurn mill. Mr Reid takes his lost v.ry philosophically, an^ will not allrw it to interfere with his business, which will be carried on with* out interruption. Great sympathy is, however, expressed for Mr ReM, whoxe losses annually for years past by fire, flood and other casualties have been very large. Tlie few hoars nun which fell on Monday last seerarto have been of little or no use for mining purposes, the water having rin of in a few hou*** after the rain stopped. The Welcome, Inkeriiian, Fiery Cross And Ingle wood batteries are consequently agaiu at a stand-still. The gratifying news was received from the Gulden Treasure mine early in the present week of the picking up of the north reef on the B. level. A shot was put into the reef, and showed the atone to be about eighteen inches thick, carrying the same good gold as the block from which the Crushing was fak n before the Christmas holidays. Mr G B. Shepherd, the local director, visited the mine on Monday last, and brought to town some of the stone, which in fairly studded with the precious metal. Until the reef is driven on it in impossible to apeak as to the full value of the tind. A meeting of the creditors in 'he matter of the Oriental Company (in liquidation) will be held at the office of Mi* BreniiiUi to -morrow, at noon, for the purpose of appointing a liquidator. The debts in the estate are und»r«too.l to be about -1,800, a large part of which is a liability to the bank. There has been a good deal of traffic in Reform shares during the past few days, at gradually increasing prices. The miuc is reported to look remarkably well. In the course of the interview the othei night with Mr .1. D. Lance he related a circus! ance in connection with the firsi rush to the West Coast got "fields whicli will pro'tably be remembered by the pioneer " Russians " to this part of th< Colony. It was in February. 1865 thai the news of the discovery of gold in W«st> land became genet ally known in Dunedis ami Chrwtchureh, and nbo.it the middle of the mouth the advance guard began t<i movo from Christ church. A week or s< before Mr Lance, whose sheep station u situate about 60 miles fr >n» the City of the Plains in the direction of the he* I of thl Teremakau, then the only available over land route, got wind of the imminence <•! the rush and shapped hi* arrangements accordingly. He got up butchers and baken from Christtiliurch, and laid in a large stock of provisions. On the 13th Februarj 1863, the van of the migraii s reached thu station. The tint batch consisted ol ahout live hundred diggers. The men spread tttoir tents fotftiJ Ine tkomustead, and were able to procure their supplies from the storekeeper on the stati>n. At daylight on the following morning th« army moved uu the. journey, an! in thin way, in the space of six weeks no less a number than thirty thousand nun arrived at and departed from the station e» rout* to the West Coast diggings. Only a faint idea can be formed of the magnitude o| the commissariat arrangements required t>i provision such a vast number of eager, hungry, men after a fifty mile tramp, but everything was so systematically pUnn*-i that there was abundance for everybody, served without delay or hitch of any kind. It is also worthy of mention, and Mi Lance relates it with great pride for the miners as a class, that not one of thai great army of men sought to eva«'e the rules of the station Payment for everything required was Hxed at the lowest possible scale, and it wai left entirely to the honor of the muti whether they paid or not. Notices had been posted at the station intimating thai those who had the means were expected to pay, but those who were without money would not be denied anything When, however, the accounts were «one over at the end of the six weeks Mr L nice statei the amount found to be outstanding was it mere tri§r\ almost every cue of that vast crowd having honorably kept faith, and paid for everything obtained. In the fact of such an experience Mr Luice, not unnaturally, speaks in the highest term* «»i praise of the character of the digger. It may he mentioned in this connection that Mr W. Beilbv, hotelkeeper, of Reefton, was one of the first five hundred men who reached the station from Christehurch, en route for the Qreenstone, and he fully confirms everything said by Mi Lance, if indeed any continuation wen necessary. At a meeting of the directors of the Reform Company last night the tender t>l C. Williams and party was accepted fof the coy at ruction of uprise, the price be* ing 26-. 11l per foot. The Venus lottery will start on its trial run to-day, and Mr Treunery expects tc have the aerial tramway in full work conveying stone from the mine to the battry by Tuesday or Wednesday next. The secon I day of the Governor's stay in Greymouth was occupied in visiting tho Harbor works, holding a levtfe, opt«ning a a flower show, and visit Ins; tho ! Brunner Coalmines. A luncheon was ' provided at Brunnerton, the arrangements beintf made by the two mine matiai>erft, Messrs Bishop and Alexander. Mr M. Kennedy occupied th« chair, and in the course of his remarks expressed n hope that His Excellency would visit them

again huforu his term of offiej expired and that he would be aWe to X'»nitf t»y means of the East and West Coast Railway. Hit Excellency whilst preserving, a discreet silence about the railway, mutters of which nature he left to gentlemen like Mr t*tice, Ministers of the Grown and representatives of the people, in reported l»y the Argus to have said in reference to the position of the Colony "that there never had 'wen, since the world began, young nations like New Zealand and the Austra lin.fi Colonies, and which enjoyed siuh a {vantages in the management of their own affairs, though still protected by the greatest naval power in "the* world, h power upon , whose domiiiioiiH the sun never sets:" Oir returning from Brainierton the Governor whs escorted to his hotel, and in the evening a torchlight procession, headed hy (he hau I, hi traded a large crowd to see him off M;i iy went out with the party in the tug t • the Hinnjoa, which was tying «ut in the roadstead. • >"'• Elnet S. N. Haskel, t>f California, who recently visited Acklauf, writes hs follows in the I ibh rho an&h iyn* of ih- 7Ym<# regarding New Zealand : "The people <>f this colony are different hi some res|>ects from some of the \A\uk eorotiit's of Anntralaa'ia. k eoinKimitioifc, of Trixh wit, English coi|it«»y. Scottish honesty, and American enterprise is Bwen in l»"tli the people and the t*re«w. Am.rica <>wes its ureatness to the fact th»t tens ..f thousands of every ttition»lity in the w>>rld fl>>ck to its shores yearly. In. this n-spect New Zealand reseiuliles America more than does any of the colonies." The Herald, from Oreynioiuh, Captain Savory, reports that 011 Thus lay, at live p.m. he passed what he l>eliere<.! to Iw n new island hearing 8. W. l>y W.. 12 miles from Motupe, S. l,y E , 12 n<iU» from Ca|>e Ma'ia Van Di< iu<in li^lnliuus ; weathet n . smo>.h e». At Km pass d Ave n ilt» iroin it, after some diataoue re turned to within 2 miles of it. Night coining on, I was afraid to go closer. It was oval ahapped, 30ft high, 200: t long. The general opinion after ,%h iiMpeutlm of Savory's diagram is, that it is a large ship o«i l)eam ends. We yesterday repulilished f r >m the l-votiing Pont of the previous day th« particulars of * rather peculiar action, Macarthy ?. Martin, in which the plaint ill alleged that he had advanced at different times sums of uiouey amounting to £166 i to Mr Edward Shaw upon an understandt iug that the defendant wa» to repay him • one-half of such money lent After hear I ing the evidence the Magistrate held that i an obligation had heen entered into hj , the defendant, and gave judgment for the t amount claimed, (83 4s and costs. > We know Hop Bittt-rs are a'"**-* an.l i Ujyond all as a nutritious tonic an 1 cum , tive. Oenuiue tuadit l»y Am. Co. Read thoroughly the j " Kbatihq's Powt>E» " <ie«tn.y-« Bugs, PtBAS, MoTtfs. BEETLM and all other insects, whilst <iuite hatinlt'«« to |..rnettic 1 aiimalt. In extetioi ■tati.ng Rtutl-s he e success of this tpowdt* is» estraorliiiiivv. , It ts perfectly* ofrtui in] applicat'i m. Sef the article you (ntrohase is " Kka tvoV . as imitat-tons ar>* noxious a*i I iiMtf'otnai, ' ' Sold in Tins, 61., U, an 1 9« 61 <aoh, hy 1 j all oheinistaV* Oom'tdik im the nousE. — l< Hou^li 1 on Bats" clears out rats, mice, bw ' tins, rnat'hes, hed-btiijft, rti'-s, i-it-». it] 1 sf-efcs, moles. ja;k-rju)'»its, «j»>is 1 Kemptliorne, I rosser and Cn. V^etir-s 1 Chrißt«"l)urch. I