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Inangahua Times, Volume XI, Issue 1905, 5 September 1887, Page 2

There seems to be a lul 1 in the political storm just at present all o- rer the colony. So far Ministers have undoubtedly had the best of the fight. Sir Julii ib Yogel effectually spiked the enemy's guns at Chriatchurch. In Dunedin, despite the iacessant demunciations of the leading orge v, Sir Robert Stout, has, both by the dry, ste rn logic of facts, and his personal popularity quite taken the sting out of the opposition. The Hon. Mr Larnach has shown that h a has lost nothing of the strength of his pos jtion on the Peninsula, In "Wellington the jre-aotion of feeling in favor of the Governrne nt is even more marked. Major Atkinson's rec< mt address there failed to raise even a spark of enthusiasm, and now we find that \frG. Fisher, the erstwhile pet of one of the 'Wellin gton strong-holds of the Opposition, could s B'ircely obtain a hearing. ! At Wanganui the H on. Mr Ballance has made | his positicn thorou; jhly secure, if indeed it was ever in danger.. All this seems to portend tha t the Gove rnment will go back from the country with a thoroughly safe majority. The risk of bus jh fires does not appear to deter the erection, of buildings on the heavily timbered terrjvcjß on the northern town boundary. The town has extended considerably in that di? c ction since last year, and in the openings be frween the trees new and comfovtable cottage j may be seen in all directions. It may, howe v 3r, be well to remember that the hot season is approaching, when we may look for a r eourrence of the fires of past years. Tha o? jly chance of gaining security against the cl anger seems to lie in felling all adjacent tre es , and burning off early in the season, whan fires can be kept under control. Thap: jotioeof burning off grass, ferns and brushwr od in proximity to all settlement in the early part of the season .ought indeed to bf mndn gor itral. Last year it cost the County Council a : ;nod round Rum in endeavoring, ii.eiiectiKil) y, to check the bush fires. If the town is to be freed from a similar liability this Bii miner 60me early preventive measureH Bhould be adopted. A Chin aman came near losing the number of his nu b'i on Saturday last- He was crossing the. Inangahua river in a canoe with some , c ibbayeK. There was a slight flood runnine;, and the man having got into rough water he loßt both his poll and his pole. He s'cood up in the canoe and appeared by his ges tares to be addressing a publio meeting. lld bellowed in a most frantic manner, as h>e - was swept helplessly down stream. Pres;en' t'.j both disappeared from sight, the old di ig-out having turned turtle. On reappeal ing John was seen in shallow water on the 0) iposite side. He looked like a stranded poxpo /se, the imprisoned air in his jumper

and capacioua unmentionables making it difficult for the spectators to recognise him. Bat they were not left long in B u 9 pense, for in a moment the Chinaman scrambled out, and appeared to be none the worse for his ducking. By this time the overturned canoe had been swept far down, but was eventually recovered. The cabbages were regarded as a total loss, and abandoned to the underwriters. The mild rain of the past few Jdays has had the effect of raising the rivers sufficiently to interfere with traffic. The Westport coach left Reef ton at the usual hour on Friday morning, but was unable^o proceed on the journey, and returned^ to'-town in the afternoon, and has since been detained here. The Grey ooach managed to get through on j Saturday evening, but there seems a probability of that line being blocked to-day. During the coming spring and summer the public of Reefton will no doubt have frequent cause to regret the washing away of the Big Grey bridge. The auction sale of cattle advertised by Mr G. Wise for Saturday last was postponed, the stock being detained at the Inangahua Junction by a flood intheßuller river. Travellers along the Buller road complain of the dangerous condition of the foot-bridge over Burk's Creek. Messrs Lockington and Emanuel, the new proprietors of the Reefton Saw Mills, are making arrangements to greatly increase the out-put of material. For this purpose important additions are being made to the plant. In the Magistrate's Court report on Friday last in the civil action, Thomas and Mcßeath v. Deverlin, the amount of the claim was erroneously stated to be £15, instead of Li ss, which was the amount sued for. The second drawing in the Draught* Tournament took' place at the Chess Club room on Saturday evening. The names of the players drawn are posted at the Club, and players are required to make the earliest possible arrangements for completing the play. Mr Brown. Mayor of Wellington, paid a visit to the Reefton Electric Light Company'B works last week. He was shown over the race, and supplied with all details as to the carrying out of the undertaking. He expressed himself highly pleased with his visit, and considered the undertaking would be a great success. The forthcoming anniversary celebration in connection with Kuox Church, Reefton, will be one of morn than oruinary attractiveness. A feature of tho occasion will be the rendering by the choir of the choicest songs of the celebrated Fisk Jubilee Singers, who recently created such a furore in musical circles throughout the Colony. The music is of a kind entirely new, and as the choir has been diligently rehearsing for months past, it may be expected that they will do full justice to the occasion. We publish in another column a forecast of the programme. Some daring burglnries have been committed in Melbourne, which show that a well-organised gang are at the work. The burglars first appear to have stolen a horse to carry away the booty. On the 19th it»K tho manae />f the Rev. A. Yuile, the pastor of Erskine Church, Ruthdown street, Carlton, was entered, and a large safe, weighing probably about 3cwt, was carried away, together with other property ; and bo quietly and expeditiously was this done that the family and servants asleep in the house knuw nothing of the visitation till next morning, when they found the house broken open and ramsacked, and the property gone. The safe, however, contained nothing but a chalice and a few other silver-plated articles used in the Communion Service of the church, and some old books containing church records. At an early hour on the same night a descent, apparently by the same gang, had been made on the pawnshop of Mrs Mandelberg. She was wakened by the barking of a little dog, and on looking out nhu saw a man feeding the watch dog with meat, whilst two others were watching in a right-of-way into which the yard opens. She heard someone moving in the shop, and immediately rushed to the front window and called for the police. Her cries were quickly responded to by two policemen, but were too late, for the robbers at the sound of alarm made off. The man in chargo of the cart jumped into it and drove quickly away and the others made their escape. The watch dog wa« pacified by the meat given him, hut the incessant barking of a terrier woke Mrs Mandelberg. In the shep was a large iron safe, which contained about LSOO worth of jewellery. The stolen horse and cart were abandoned as soon : as done with, and have been restored ' to their owners. j