The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 1886.

Inangahua Times, Volume XI, Issue 1679, 17 March 1886, Page 2

The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 1886.

A FLUTTERof excitement was occasioned in town yesterday afternoon by the receipt of a telegram from 'a gentleman in Nelson, stating that word bad been received there that the contract for the East and West Coast and N«'lson railway bad been signed in London. The message was addrossed to Mr James Stevenson and was from iMr Jno. M'Gatlin. The news eagerly passed round, and knots of residents soon gathered at the hotels and street corners discussing the subject, aud up to a late hour hist night we had constant inquiries as to whether anything confirmatory of the report had come through the ordinary channel of the Press Agtiicy. No such item has reached us. and we are therefore left to coMJ.-cturf wLat it really means.

There is, however, much inherent improbability iv the report. In the ( first place the Hoii3e has virtually i decided against the principle of con- £ ceding lands for the construction of I the line. Supposing therefore that \ such a contract had actually been i signed, it would still have to go before , Parliament for ratification, and thcte ( is very little doubt that the House , would refuse to ratify it. Again, the ( contract euteied into between tlv j Government and the Nelson and ( Christ-church- syndicate for the construction of the line has been practical !y ' abrogated by the failure of the ' syndicate to comply with section 4 of the contract. That section requires that within one year from the date of the contract (17th January, 1885,) the contractors shall deposit £5000 in the public account of the Colony as a guarantee for the performance of the conditions of the contract. This requirement has not been complied with. Section 17 provides "If from any canse the sum of £5,000, as provided by the 4th section of this contract, shall not be deposited as aforesaid within the time specified, this contract shall become liable to be rescinded, and fo be made null and void and of no effect, at the instance of either of the parties hereto." The Government is therefore to all intents and purposes released from any obligation under the contract. But it will be observed that for this nonperformance by the contractors the contract is only " liable to be rccinded and to be made null and void." It is therefore still in the power of the Governor in Council to waive thelache on the part of the contractors, but whether the Government, on the eve of a general election would do this without afresh reference to Parliament j is, to Bay the least, questionable.

To-day, being St. Patrick's Day, will no doubt be observed as a holiday by the banks, and business places in town. The cricket match at Boatman's, and concert { and ball there in the evening will no j doubt attract a good many visitors from Reefton, provided the weather is fine. At the meeting of 'tho Hospital Board, held last night Mr D. O. Presbaw was re- j appointed Secretary. It was decided not 1 to appoint a permanent chairman. Tenders for sinking shaft for the Keep-it-Dark Company will close to-day. There are many here who will hear with regret of'the sudden death of Mr R. Haworth, Dunedin, which took place at Melbourne yesterday. Mr Haworth was a large shareholder in the Keep-it-Dark and other Reefton mines. Here is a ghastly item. Henry Smith, a labourer out of work, was charged at an English police court, durii>w Christmas week, with stealing refuse food, Value threepence. Tlje evktenco slowed that the prisoner was starvu % and that a soldier at the camp had ar' -d him to take Bcme of the food which lie could not eat j off his plato. As the refuse food was sold to a contractor, the prosecution obtained | a conviction on tin* ground that Smith, : by taking this swill-tub refuse, was ; robbing the contractor, and he was sen- i tenced .to a month's hard labour 1 Yd i gods ! .this is British law the law that ia modelled upon the Biblical code. Aud, by the way, before we forget, let us mention that Her Majesty the Queen has just been graciously pleased to contribute £10 towards the London ivfuge for starving dogs. When the medical man at the iuquest on a sufferer from the Melbourne Hospital offered evidence about one who bad died from what the hospital people humorously term natural causes, whereas the deceased was an accident case? the Coroner excused his professional brother by sayiug that so many deaths occurred in the hospital that doctors are at times puzzled to know which is which. The question arises whether the Bame contusion doesn't exist in the treatment of patients. Tho appalling death-rate in the Melbourne Hospital may be partly owing to the fact that fractured skulls are prescribed for as diseased livers, and so forth. They do "pop-off" in that institution. " All hope abandon, ye who enter here," should be written above the doorway. But there is one consolation for the sufferers. Although there may possibly be some mixing up of t!iek physics, and misunderstandings at their inquests, we believe that the identity of thoir cnrp.ies is strictly preserved. Now, at the Melbourne Benevolent Asylum they are not so particular. If two of the old inmates pay in their cheeks together, it is even money betting that they get buried in one another's graves. The Leeds Times thus describes a now idea in accident insurance: — "The 'Insurance Railway fiuide ' contains all the information found in compilations like other guides, but the purchaser of each monthly number, in the act of purchase, and without further trouble to himself, insure* his life against accident on the railway for a month. Each copy of the 'Guide' contains a coupon, payable by the Railway Passengers' Assurance Company equivalent to an insurance policy or ticket for a month. Tho coupon in the shilling copy of the 'Guide,' is worth £500 in the event of death, or £2 a week for a specified terra in case of disablement. The Bixpenny 'Guide' coupon is only good for £200 in case of death. This is a cheap and enticing form of railway assurance. Persons who do not travel frequently are unwilling to assure for a year, and a sixpennj' insurance on a short double journey, a first-class, is a severe impost. By paying 6d a month the purchaser of the one shilling 'Insurance Guide ' can cover his risks to £500 on a good many journeys." A sad accident happened at Stawell, resulting in the death of a young man named Nicholas Trouette, the son of the late Jean Pierre Trouette, of fet. Peter's

Vineyard, and a Frunu-liman named !)obie. The men were engaged in cleannu; an underground vat 15 feet deep and I feet in diameter, used f>ir storing husks. \ young man named Thompson descended ;lie vat, but waa immediately overpowered the fumos at the bottom. Trouette, svho was on the surface, noticing this, dejonded to reacue thelad, but had only just time to tio a rope round his waist and irder those on the top to pull up when ho himself was overcome and fell prostrate. Cobie, who was on the surface, gave the alarm and pulled up Thompson, who was insensible. Mies Trouette came rushing up and wanted to descend, •when Cobio tied a rope round her waist au 1 let her down, but she was shortly after drawn up insensible. Otbie then descended for the purpose of rescuing Trouette, but before aid could be obtained he was also lying helpless at the bottom of the vat. As soon as possible the bodies ware raised to the surface by Constable Mooney, and Dv Jack, of Stawell, was sent for, but when he arrived life was extinct. Those amotA us («ays the Lyttelton Times) who 1 member Frederick Henry Digby, the bt [iaut sporting journalist, tho genial an • witty "Loafer in the Street," and t j active secretary of the Canterbury Joftey Club, will no doubt read with regreigthe announcement of the death, which <h ttrred on Saturday morning. Yet tbere*ldf" in truth, but little reason for sorrow over the close of the earthly life of one who, for four years, has boen virtually dead to his fellow men. For that period poor Fred. Digby was an inmate of Sunnyside Lunatic Asylum, insanity having clouded his once-brilliant mind. Of the powers of that mind, when in its prime, there is little need here to speak. As a writer in his particular line Mr Digby made for himself a name which will not soon be forgotten. Journalists and those connected with the great world of "sport" will Ions; remember him as one of the most popular and versatile of their comrades ; while many others will respect liis memory as that of I si kindly trua-hearted fellow — a gentleman j in the best sense of the word — one with ' a heart and hand always ready to give help where help was needed, and one whose genial soul made him the life of whatever company he was in. He was but 45 years of age at the time of his death. " Keattng's Powder " destroys Bros, Fleas, Moths, Beetles, and all other insects, whilst quite harmless to domestic animals. In exterminating Beetles the Riiccess of this powder is extraordinary. It is perfectly clean in application. Sec the article you purchase is " Kr.vriNG's" as imitations are noxious and ineffectual. Sold in Tina, 6d., Is., and 2s Gd each, by all chemists. Remember that a little Hop Bitters saves big Doctor's bills, and cures when all else fails. Don't take unless Am. Co.'s make. Read