THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY, 2, 1877.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue 72, 2 February 1877, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY, 2, 1877.

The Inangahua riyer during the late floods has cut away a large slice of tbe southern bank, in the vicinity pf tbe Warden's regis dence, and the river evinces a decided inclination in that direction, and unless some kind of wing-dam, or other protective work is constructed there to divert the set q{ the stream the whole of the dwellings at Boss Town will be placed in a rather critical situation. Some time ago an announcement went the rounds of tbe Colonial Press to the effect that by the death recently in London of a certain James Smith, the surviving relative, supposed to be somewhere in New Zealand, had succeeded to a fortune of £400,000. This announcement not unaturally created a considerable flutter amongst the numerous members of the family of that name, and it is curious to remark that no less than three towns of the Colony bave claimed to have the real Simeon Pure resident in their midst. It aps pears, however, f.-om abetter just received in Reefton from the chief Enquiry Agency of Victoria that the fortune in question has not, as has been stated, been left to any particular Smith, but to all Smiths in general, or at least to all tbose of the name who can satisfac-. torily prove that they are, no matter how remotely, in the line of the testator's blood. From all this it is probable tbat the bequest will bring to tha BUvface an extensivo crop of claimants. "Epv the information of the Smiths of the Inangahua we may state that some proof of descent will be necessary ex- 1 tending back as far as gteat gra nd-fdther and great- grand-mother. ........ The late prolonged^ rain-fall has hacj a most ruinous effect upon fartning operations in the Inangahua. In many localities the grain crop has bee^ ly^ng upon the ground for nearly a fortnight, exposed to the full severity of the vveathor. Mr John Williams, of Pern Flat, yesterday lodged a complaint with the Chairman of the Boad Board resepoting the removal of gravel near bis premises. It appears that the Buller road maintenance contractor has made an px» oavotion contiguous to Mr Williams's home* stead for tbp purpose of getting met_»l fpr the repair of the road. This, it is urged is in the direct course of the river, which is now bearing towards ' Mr Williams's house. We believe the contractor has been restrained ponding a report upon the complaint by tbe proper officer,

The W jstport Times says :— Some special ] lobodies at Reefton recently got up 1 i Bachelor's picnic, and in sending < jut invitations to hdy guests they decided to j Iraw the line at barmaids. The indignation < hus aroused among (he fair Hebes may be 1 magined. Considering three-fourths of . ihe wives and matrons, on the Coast have ( graduated in bars, and are none the less good i md respectable helpmates to their husbands, , the Reefton' bachelors decidedly ventured on ilangerous ground. At tho criminal|Bi(tipgs at Christchurch on Tuesday, a cotnmoA|uro* complained of being described in lhe panel as a gardener, when he was chief clerk in'oW^Rßela^sf mercahtlTe firms in the place, which provoked from Judge Johnston the remark that if he (the Judge) had been called o^gufcjjgwnj^s a gqjrs__ey he would not have felt insulted. Adam was a gardener, and he wfll the ll^t gentleman they knew of. Tho Otago Guard.sn understands that the police pay is to be reduced to six shillings a day. ,;;: The Auckland Star .tail Wednesday night published a ftgeqn nwjssoge brought by one of their eM^ x srds_..oO miles in three hours. . In a speech mado by the Hon. W. Fox on Tuesday evening last, he said according to the Rangitikei Advocate's report :— ln con» nection with the election day, as he observed j it in San Francisco, he was surprised at the > apparent absence of drinking, and compared it with election scenes he had witnessed du>ing his visit to England. Tho absence of driuking and rioting in San Francisco, he found was due to the publichouses being by law closed on the election days, and lhe law being strictly enforced. Altogether he thought the Americans were a much more sober people than the English. He failed to see a drunken man in America, but in the city of Durham he had counted as many as 139 in the course of one hour on a Saturday night, just in ono portion of the town. I A good deal of unfavourable comment bas [ been indulged in of late in reference to acts of nepotism committed by Dr Jackson, the Bishop of London. That dignitary has lately appointed bis three sons-in law, who are all quite young men, to import** tit and lucrative charges in his diocese, which have hitherto been regarded as tbo reward of long nnd faithful service, accompanied by talent. Each case has been worse than the preceding one, and an attempt to explain away the matter by stating tbat the appointments were made by the Bishop at the request of the churchwardens after ho had failed to get moderate men of standing to accept them, has met with tho incredulity and ridicule it deserved. The fact is, the Bishop has eleven marriageable daughters, three of whom are now comfortably disposed of, and bachelors in orders avo begining to bethink them of killing two birds with one stone by marrying tbe other eight, and thereby securing professional advancement as well. Dr Jackson is a.l excellent man, but he as two littie faults which have gained him much unpopularity —he sees no.hing but harm inDis9enter3, and noihing but excellence and talent in jais daughters' husbands. A correspondent of the Lake Wakatip Mail slates that a Btrange circumstance look place at the Shotover Branches about a fortni/ut ago. It appeared to observers as if two large clouds were coming together— one from tho east and the otber from the west— until tbey came over the Bight Hand Branch, where a man named Dwill has a payable claim. Just before the clouds met, there was a heavy hail shower, which left the ground covered six inohes deep with hillstones as large as marbles ; then followed a shock l|ke an earthquake, and the rain came straight down like a waterspout tearing away the hill for a mile around, leaving the bed of the river filled up with rocks and earth 20ft high, and' backing the water for half a mile so tbat the place could not be recognised by those who bad seen it before. The following sensible remarks aro made by the Manawatu Times, which otber local bodies wid do well to attend to :— '• On all ■ hands it seems to be admitted that the sue* : cess of the county system means the extent t$ I which it will relieve the General Government and the Legislature of the charge of local public works, and local interests generally, i It is desirable tbat the General Government should confine its attention to matters of general interest, and not interfere in local affairs ; and still more desirable is it tbat the Legislature should do so, if we wish to preserve it from corruption — from log-rolling jobbery, 'et hoc genu? homme' of political abominations, which arise from Parliament having too muoh to do with purely local concerns. The magnitude and importance of this end ought to ensure mutual forbearance and cordial cc«operation between the Councils and Boards. It is not merely the construction of publio works that they are called upon to attend to, but something higher than that— something that touches the general good in its vital part, namely, the purity of the Legislature and the Government. Tbe success of the county pystem will greatly djn^ris& ..the, temptations' which militate against this purity, and hence that success means more t^an roads, bridges, hospitals, and branch lines of \ railway, Next to common sense — of which, iudeed, it forms a part —a conciliatory disposition will bo the nrost essential qualification in a county councillor. As illustrating the valuable nature of the mementoes of the past, which occasionally como to light in South Canterbury, wi. (Timaru Herald) may mention a Moa bone brought to us recently. This gigaatic relic was ploughed up on the plain near the Levels Station, and transcends in size any other that we have yet met with. It measures 2ft 9£in in length, lft sin round tbe bead and 9in ' round the shaft ; and though quite hollow, weighs over 121bs, According to, the ordinary proportions of the skeleton of the Moa, 'thi* bone must have belonged to a bird nt least 15ft high— a nice sort of fowl to meet in a lonely glen. . A small book published by authority of the

New Zealand Government— " Reports on the I Durability of New Zealand Timber"— gives a ] description of the various kinds of trees that . jrow throughout the Colony, with particulars , of their quality. Tbe kauri ranks as the best 5 the totara stands next, followed by the rimu ■ and other kind of pines, the tanekaha, the f cedar, birch, and tjie rata, or iwjnbark. And this information is supplemented by an ac« , count of experime._ls on the several kinds of limber.