The Inangahua Times, PUBHBHBD TRI-WKKKLY. MONDAY. APRIL 20, 1891.

Inangahua Times, Volume XVI, Issue 20226, 20 April 1891, Page 2

The Inangahua Times, PUBHBHBD TRI-WKKKLY. MONDAY. APRIL 20, 1891.

Whilst our neighbours at West port nre agitating for a High School and making au endeavor t0 JLJve their childveu a thoroughly soubtpSiad eabstantial oducatiOD, a groat many fathers and mothers osgßeefton_.ar&, neglecting to avail i&etnVelvea of 'the* oppbrtauity given them of sending their cbildreu to a primary school, and so allowing the little ones to grow up in ignorftuce, and without that know, ledge, which, at the present day, is &o essential to their welfare and advancement. No argumeut should be necessary to imprets upon every parent the absolute necessity of sending the children to school, yet what do we find here? Go into the streets any day during school hours and scores of children of a school ago will be found playing about, unconscious of the injustice they -are suffer, ing through their parents negligence. It is not an unusual occurrence for fully one fourth of the scholars on the State School roll to be absent, and such being the case, how can it be expeo'.ed that the school should maintain that high piace ou {he Inspector's reports which it had and which the well known übitities of the" touchers would lead one to expect 1 Thoughtful parents will see at once that it v not fair to the teachem, whose future depends npou their present day success in achieving a reputatiou by which they can advance in their profession ; it is nut fail* to tho3e parents who send their children to school regularly ; and it is not fair to their own children, whose Jives are in a great measure being spoilt through the thoughtlessness of the very persons whose sacred duty it is to avail themselves of every" opportunity by which the little ones may become fitted to battle with the world. Muny parents wi 1 argne that they have got along very well without any education, they can read and write in a manner, and never experienced any draw* Imoks through thoir lack of school knowledge. Such au argument is absurd. This is a go-ahead age, an age of progress, and knowledge is an absolute necessity for the man who wißues to keep himself fairly afloat ou the stream of life. Science is daily Gluing up fresh wonders to our View, but would this have been the cuse if the education of the scientists had been neglected, and they, as children, had been allowed to waste the precious hours of childhood in an unceasing round of play and neglect 1 What we waut here is a truant officer whoße duty it woul^ be to take the names of any children of a school age found playing about the streets dur* ing school hours and reporting the same to the School Committee. The Committee would then make enquiries of the parents and ascertain the reason why the children had not been sent to school. If the reason given was a good one the matter would stop there, but if not, and if down* right negligence had been committed, theu steps should he taken to bring the parents to a right frame of mind and teach them their duty to the children. Parentß cannot say " the children are ours, and we can do as we like with them." No. The State has a voice in the matter, and will see that no danger if incurred of the future men and women' of this colony growing up in ignorance and wretchedness.

Notice is direcied to the Jtckey Club's adT#rtUe«»nt oalling for applications for the position of otrttaktr. Th«r* will be a mMting of the Coursing dab coßonuttw at Dawson's 1 Hotel this evening it 9 p.m. for the purpose of making final •nangemeHts for the opening mtet. Mr. B. E. Fletcher (Associate Sooiaty Eleotrioal Engineers, London), arrived in town on Saturday and will leave for Greymouth this afternoon. Mr Fletcher has just concluded an installation at the Bxunner Coal Mine, whereby the eleotrio transmission of power han been utilised, and it has now been working continuously night ana 'day for ovar a Week, without the slightest hitch of any kind. .This is the first application of elejtrieity to coal mining in tne colonies, bnt it has been used for gold mining. The Argus instances the Phoenix Co. Skippers, and also the Sandhills Co, both of which works were carried out to a successful issue by Mr Fleteher. We understand that the Beefton Eleotrieal Transmission of Power and Lighting Company have secured a promise from Mr Fletcher to overhaul and report upon their installations. The directors are determined to make a thorough success, if possible, of the whole system, and Mr Fletcher's report will be looked for anxiously by all the shareholders in the company.

Through the courtesey of Mr Gardner manager of th« Colonial Bank of New Zealand, we are enabled to give a skort description of Fletcher's gag furnace for gold melting, now in use by the Colonial Bank here. ▲ very compact malting house, small yet substantial, has been erected at the rear of the bank, and is fitted up with shelves carrying all the. necessary apparatus in the way of crueiblei, moulds, flaxes, etc., that are OMessary tor malting purposes. The furnace is mad* of what looks like fire-clay, and is abu:r : 15 inches high, nine inches wide and of c.iuckr sh&pt. It is supplied with a £uv<ui, simple, and perfectly safe arrangemeut ioi burniog the vapour of gasoline or benroUnej oTtof a power tps eßo^wy foDy

«qual to that whioh can be obtained by a large gas supply. The arrangement is in every way aa simple as when gas is used, requiring no more trouble or attention. It equals a gaß furnace in every respect, and in addition gives a heat of absolute purity, fitting it for the most delicate chemical operation where gas cannot be used. The generator, whioh is not unlike a deed 'box in appearance, is of iron, about two_ feet long by one deep and one wide, and is charged with a supply of two inches of gasoline. It will then work for about ten or twelve hours at the full power of the furnace, and for ordinary meltings can be used 30 or 40 timeß without re-charging. Attached to the generator is a small foot bellows, worked by the operator. A current of air is forced through the gasoline in the generator and then passes on to the furnace through a blowpipe. This blowpipe is merely inserted into the bottom of the furnace and a light applied by a wax taper, and then the melting process commences. The name is forced round the crucible and within twenty minutes 2500zs of gold can be melted. If another lot of gold is waiting it can be put through in from ten to fifteen minu. tes. The mould can be' heated by being placed on the top of the furnace and the escape flame allowed to play on it, and, if left in this position for a fevf.muiute3,,4it^er "potAflffVftl l»v:The eßca^nVm ismhfm away by'a tuße and the operator experiences no incorvenience from heat, the melting room throughout the whole of the process retaining its ordinary temperature. Not the slightest danger exists of losing even a grain of gold as in the event of the crucible breaking its contents would fall into a perfectly clean furnace. During the process the generator is placed outside the building, the rubber tubes connecting it with the rest of the apparatus being carried through an aperature in the wall.' Although benzoline may be used, the preference is given to gasoline as it engenders a fiercer heat. Gasoline is a liquid and not unlike kerosene in appearance. The process throughout is very simple and dean ; the heat playing upon the crucible is very fierce and can be regulated at will, and yet does not effect the operation; and in lifting the crucible from the iurnace no difficulty whatever is experienced, as the furnace stands upon the same table with the other appliances.

Fobßyth and Masters are the cheapest for all mining requisites.—^Advt. Some murmurs are heard as to the railway work provided for the unemployed falling into the hands of men possessed of means ; but there seems to be no fair ground' for complaint on that score. It was well known to every one who had his ears open and cared to know that a section of the railway was to be reserved for those in want of work, and it seems to be idle to be making complaints now that all have had the same opportunity. There were of course men who did not care to leave the town and have remained [behind ; but as a considerable number have taken advantage of the opportunitity so considerately provided by the Hon Mr Seddon the chances of obtaining employment have been correspondingly increased by those who preferred to stop in town and trust to the chances of employment on the wharf or wherever else it might be available, preoarious though it might be. Some two dozen men left yesterday by the tram for the section of railway line laid off for them, and as the price per yard for the earth work (Is 8d) is a good deal more than the work would be let for if by contract, the men ought to be able to earn tolerably fair wages. That at least is the opinion held by those who. arc well acquainted with suoh-work and the prices paid for it. — Argus. ■• It is reported that the two tons of antimony ore sent home from the Golden Treasure mine realised £22 10s per ton. The stone brought into town by the Merrijigs mine manager is of the same quality and appearance as that worked in the A 1 ground by Mr D. O'Connell, and which gave a return of over 20ozs to the ton. The stone is now lying at the office of the Company.

Three young women employed at a draper's in Blackburn prevailed upon two workmen to show them over some new bank premises. The party entered a strong-room, and the door being accidentally olosed they suddenly found themselves prisoners. Their cries could not be heard, hence they were locked up all night. The next morning they were released after 15 hours' captivity. Forsith and Mabtkbb have the largest stuck on the West Coast. A young married couple sent a pair of parrots from Marseilles as a present to their aunt. The birds, which had come from one of the Australasian islands, had no sooner arrived at the aunt's house thun one after another of the inmates were stricken down with yellow fever, four persons dying. The parrots are said to have conveyed tne germs of the fever in their feathers.

A daring attempt was made at San Francisco, on the 6th February, to rob the train going from San Francisco to L<m Angeloa, California. A party of robbers boarded the train at Alila, and, covering the enginedriver and firemen with their revolvers, forced these officials to accompany them to the express car. The messenger in charge of the car, however, realising the situation, quenched all the lights and fired blindly at the approaching party. The robbers returned the shots, and the messenger was slightly wounded. In the indiscriminate exchange of shots the fireman received a fatal wound. The robbers were, however,' eventually beaten off, and fled without securing any plunder. The Oamaru tradesmen did well out of the volunteer encampment, and have given £25 to Lieutenant-colonel Sumpter to be used fur the benefit of the Oamaru corps. Of this £5 is to be spent in books of reference, and the rest expended in trophies for Bhooting prizes, " distribut ing the money amongst tlie^ different jewellers."