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Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 9, 30 April 1877, Page 2

It is said that Mr F. Franklyn, late Store* keeper at Black's Point, has left the district* There will be a sitting of the liesiden* Magistrate's and Warden's Courts to-morrow morning at the usual hour. The amount of amalgam collected at the Wealth og Ifaiiona ba,ttcry for last 'week was 3i)Bozs 2dwts, making a total yield for the month'of 4260za sdwts melted gold. Another dividend oi three shillings will be declare:}. In consequence of the'disagreeable* state of the 'weather the^entertainment intended to have been given on Saturday evening last for the benefit of George Jacques was postponed until Saturday evening next. Ihe next sitting of the District Court, Reefton, will be held on the 15th May next, but the business set down for hearing will, we believe, consist chiefly of formal applications under the "Mining Companies Act," and " Debtors and Creditors Act." At tho ordinary half-yearly meeting of shareholders of tho United Alpine Company held at Mr Brennan's office on Friday last a resolution was carried confirming tho action of the directors in removing the seat of legal management of the company from Lyell to Reefton. The directors elected for tho en» suing year were. Messrs P. Butler, M. Byrne, T. M'Loughlin, and C. Burgett. It is reported that the latest r,ush to the Kum&ra promises to even eclipse in propor* tions the one which followed tho opening of that field. Prospects as high as ono penny™ weight to tl^e dish have been obtained from the ground, and there is every likelihood of the rush extending for miles. It appears after all likely that the Kumar a will bo able to lend some assistance to the Inangahua in the work of regenerating the whole of the West Coast. Mr James Dee, who has been connected with reefing almost from the first days of the opening of this field, and of late as mining manager of the Hopeful Company, Boatman's, has left on a visit to Tasmania. While there it is Mr Dee's intention to visit the quartz mines and learn something of their nature and extent, and the report he will famish upon his return to the Inangahua will no doubt be read with interest. Mr Deo has taken with him a valuable collection of geological specimens from this district as a donation by Mr William Pitt to the HobartTown Museum. We are glad to learn that encouraging accounts have been received concerning the Inkerman mine, Rainy Creek. The mining manager reports that he has driven to the western or hanging wall of the reef, and out he payable stone which was prospected on the surface. He has also driven along the foot wall and found from 4ft to sft of good payable stone, which is now turning into tbe centre of the reef. A few tons of stone have been taken out and placed in the paddock. The meeting to bo held on Saturday next will decide upon tho future course of operations in the mine. A meeting of the members oi' the Local Revenues Board wa 3 held on Saturday afternoon, but there being only threo of the members present it was decided to postpone dealing with several matters, ihc minutes of the

previous meeting were read and confirmed. A letter was read from Mr Oswald Curtis, intimating that the sum appropriated by the late Provincial Government for the erection and maintenance of bridges was exhausted. A communication was also read from H. MCall, of Boatman's, asking for compensation for the erection of a bridge. The chairman intimated that a letter had been received by him from Mr Butler, resigning his appointment of County Engineer. The correspondence as above having been read and received the meeting adjourned until Monday (to«day), at 3 p.m. Contrary to expectations we are without further intelligence regarding the progress of the war in the East. As the determination of Eussia to commence hostilities was made . on the 24th (Tuesday), ample time has since elapsed for a great change in the position of affairs, and it is therefore not a little singular that we are without intelligence of some kind. We cannot believe that any interruption has -. Jtaken place in the lino of European communi* cation as the Agency could not fail tQ notify it were such the case, and wo are driven therefore to the conclusion that no decisive military action has yet been taken by Kus9ia. The number of visitors to the Hopeful and Just-in-Time mines has been very large of late, and certain visitors seem to regard it as a i vested right that they can carry away , specimens ad lib,- To such an extreme the : practice has grown that two of the mines at * Boatman's — those mentioned above — have de» cided to close the mines, or rather to place i certain restrictions upon visitors. The ad« ' visability and wisdom of such a course cannot ' be questioned, particularly where tho bulk ' of tho visitors are strangers and have no direct ' interest in tho mines. This determination has I not unnaturally given rise to a good deal of ■ discussion, and possibly dissatisfaction, but it ; is manifestly the duty of the directors to protect the interests of shareholders, and ' besides where the mine is continually open to 1 all comers it is easy to conceive cases where ' information could bo obtained by strangers which might shortly afterwards be used ' against shareholders in reference to sales or purchases of scrip. It will be understood, I however, that both mines will bo open to visitors, but subject to the permission, to be . previously obtained, of the directors of each , company. > Mr Neil M'ConnoclUe while out prospectI ing in the ranges lying to the eastward of , Reefton came across an interesting relic in > the shape of a greenstone tomahawk, Those - who have inspected it pronounce it to be a ; genuine Maori weapon. It is about the size ; of an ordinary hatchet, but in»shape takes the I form more of a butcher's oleaver, The > edge is tolerably sharp, but flawed in several 1 places. It is of the finest description of green- ) stone, and the handle is pierced at the end as f for a strong cord to pass through. The hole ■ has evidently been diilled by some rude in* strument, as it is considerably wider on the Outside than inside. The tomahawk was found on the top of one of the highest snowy mountains to tho east of the source of the i Left Hand branch of the Inangahua and somewhere about the head waters of the Big T Grey. It was found on a ridge of sandstone, and was almost entirely hidden by moss. The 3 distance of the spot from Reofton must be i about thirty or forty miles in the heart of the ' most barren and inhospitable tract of moun^ r tain country on the West Coast. How it came there and when are matters not easy to deterF mine, but that the relic has lain for ages on > the spot it was found there can be no doubt ' whatever. We have Since heard that many I months ago another of these implements was picked up on the ranges near Reefton, and is , in the possession of a resident. • The Grey River Argus says :— -Bis Honor ' Judge Weston Bat at the Court House, Grey--1 mouth, on Saturday, in his insolvency juris/ ' diction in re the estate of George Simpson. Mr Tonka, of the Albion Hotel, was examined f relative to the interest of the insolvent in a ' certain prize, to wit, £500, allotted to the > holder of the horse Bribery in a sweepstake i in connection with the Autumn Handicap i recently run at Christchurch. The witness ' stated Simp9on had in his possession tho win' 1 ning ticket, but that the money had not been paid over. He, (witness) however, was prepared, under order of the Court, to pay the i £500 to the person legally entitled to receivo > it. The Nelson Evening Mail says i— Mr H. Balme has just completed, to the order of Mr Job Lines, a mail coach which is to run between West port and Bee fton. Judging from its appearance, we should imagine that the road in that part must be of the roughest 1 description, but no matter how bad they may ' be, this particular vehicle looks as though it would be qnite equal to the occasion. The tires are no less than an inch in thickness, the 1 axles are two inches in diameter, and the ; whole of the gear is strong in proportion. The i rockers are made of sprkg steel on quite a new principle, one of the advantages of which is '< greater ease and comfort to the passengers, while it allows of the body of the coach being two inches lower on the gear than if wooden 1 rockers had been usdd. The cushions are covered with the best enamel leather, and the painting and ornamenting are all of the veiy 1 besfe. Tho prospectus of the " Westport Steam Shipping Company" is about being issued. The provisional diroctors are:— Messrs Andrews, Smith, Corr, Watson, J. Suisted, J. Gilmer, J. Powell, and A. Stitt, and Mr J. B. Fisher is the solicitor. The proposed capital of the company is £10,000, and the promoters state that in view of the fact that the coal mines at Westport will shortly be sending down coal, it appears, says the Westport Times, that ft very profitable business can be simultaneously commenced by providing a steamer for the harbor, with largo carrying capacity, to be employed in carrying coals to the various portg in New Zealand As explained in a recent issue, an offer has been made, by the owners, of the engines — fifty horse power nominal— boiler, anohor, chains, and ship fittings saved from the ' Matau " for the sum of £2500. The pur-

chasers offer to take bills at two, four, awl six months for the price, and also agree fo take up shares in the company to the extent of £3000. The engines *and boilers .of the " Matau" cost £4000, and are in aa good con«. dition now as the day they left the hands of the manufacturers, and the rest of the gear oTered is valued at another £1000. It i 8 estimated that a new hull can be obtained in Sydney or. Melbourne, carrying between two and three hundred tons on a draught of not more than eight feet, fitted with the engines, and launched ready for sea for £5000. The steamer thus built, and costing the company £7500, is calculated to represent good value for £10,000. The scheme commends itself to investors. Beferring to the Governor's visit, the Otogo Guardian of thn 17th inst. says :— ' " Independently altogether of the money question, wo ask, What has the Governor done that a fuss should be made over him ? Some Governors, when they have acted contrary to the feelings an< J desires of the peo pie, have had to leave. Can it bo said that we in Otago are to pass unchallenged the Governor's actions ? If we do this, we are simply inviting centralist tyranny to further trample on us. It should bo tho duty of the Governor to hold tho scales equally between , the rival parties in the colony. Lord Nor« manby did not do so, and wo submit that tho i City Council, knowing that the mnjority of ; the citizens are Provincialista, should be the ■ last to recognise him in any way whatever." i Tho Evening Star characterises the Guari dian's remarks as being a gross and ill-man-i nered attack upon Her Majesty's representa- : tivc, and a disgrace to its columns. ; Tho Wellington Argus says some mis« i chievous individual inserted an advertisement ' in a local paper for a large number of small i boys to carry lunch to the pent-up Governi ment officials, applications to be made to the 1 Government Buildings. The result was that > the Buildings were literally beseiged by every ) possible variety of that interesting genus — i small boy. Many of the applicants seemed I lost in the extent of the passages and the • number of rooma, flmd stood hopelessly > gazing around, but others of a bolder type > opened the first door they came to and in- » quired, " Please, sir, do you want a boy to i carry your lunch ?" Messengers had at last to be placed on guards to prevent the admis* ■ sion of any more boys, and to refer all applif cants to the 'office of the paper in which the i advertisement appeared. In connection with this subject we may mention that the new t regulations have led to tho development of an > unsuspected amount of talent in the culinary > line, and that great ingenuity has been dis- » played in improvising cooking utensils. One I well-known gentleman has quite a little can* ' teen comprising all implements, from a grid- » iron to a kettle, and in tho neighborhood of > his office strong flavor of sausages prevails 1 daily, and the cup that cheer 3 but not me* > bi'iates is usually obtained there. Another ! gentleman finds the tongs veiy handy for ' cooking red herrings. In fact, nppetising > odours now so sweeten tho atmosphere of the ' buildings that almost every one fine's it abso- > lutely necessary to devote far more time i than usual to the business of lunch. An Auckland clergyman, after praying for [ the Quren and those in authority, mentioned • also "those who wrote in the Press and formed public opinion by that means." De Witt Talmage, the great American preacher, has also directed h*is attention the members of 1 he " Fourth Estate, and in the course of an eloquent and practical sermon, he said : " One r of the great trials of this newspaper pro« ' fession is the fact that they are compelled to 3 see more of the shams of the world ihan any other profession. Through every newspaper ? offices, day by day. go tho weaknesses of the • world, the vanities that want to be puffed, ■> the revenges that want to be wreaked, all the . mistakes that want to bo corrected, all the 1 dull speakers that want to be thought eloi quent, all the meanness that wants to get its 3 wares noticed gratis in the editorial columns ■ in order to save the tax of tho advertising columns, all the men who want to be set 1 right who nerer were right, all the crack* brained philosophers, with story as long a* their hair and as gloomy as their finger nails, in mourning because bereft of soap $ all the 1 itinerant bores who come to stay five minutes 1 and stop an hour. From the editorial and reportorial rooms all the follies and shams of . the world are seeD day by day, and the f temptation is to believe neither in God, man, i nor woman. It is no surprise to me that in t yoftr profession there are some sceptical men., i I only wonder that you believe in anything at : all. Unless an editor or reporter have in his ' present or his early home a model of earnest character or he throw himself upon the t grace of God, he must make temporal and i eternal shipwreck.