Country News.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 246, 5 August 1876, Page 16

Country News.

The Union Beach Mining Company, Coromandel, has up to the present time paid close on £15,000 in dividends. The Borough Council of Gamaru invite tenders for £7500 worth of Corporation debentures, to bear interest at 7 per cent, per annum, and redeemable in 1886. A Masterton contemporary learns that the new road across the Opaki plain is progressing rapidly, and will be passable for traffic in about six weeks. Thirteen men are at present employed upon it. A local journal regrets to learn that one or two cases of scarlatina which have made their appearance in Masterton are of a malignant type. It would be well to avoid, as far as possible, all chance of blood or skin poisoning, the latter being quite possible according to some medical writers. The Advocate states that trains were not able to run on the Foxton and Palmerston railway on Wednesday last, owing to a portion of the line being flooded. A considerable quantity of the ballasting was washed away, but beyond this no further damage was done, and the trains were enabled to resume running on Thursday. We (Napier Telegraph) learn that the Defence Minister has intimated to officers commanding districts, that the Government has determined to make a reduction in the Armed Constabulary Force of the colony. The reduction will consist of four sub-inspectors, eight sergeants, and ninety-seven men, in all one hundred and nine. What proportion will be taken from the stations in the Wairoa and Taupo districts we do not know. The following illustration of the popularity attained by the Small Farm Association has been published :—On Saturday last a deputation from the Maoris residing in the neighborhood waited upon the secretary and tendered the names of some seventy of their number desirous of becoming members. As a further guarantee of good faith they handed over their admission fee in accordance with the rules. Having some doubts on the point the proffer was declined by the secretary. The question how far this class are eligible to become members will, we understand, be submitetd to a meeting of the committee of directors. A Canterbury paper says that the rumor that S. Brighting, the well-known Christchurch fish-hawker and bottle-collector, had come into an enormous fortune, is now fully substantiated. Brighting and his wife who, the other day, were living in a state of extreme indigence, have now almost unlimited credit at every business establishment in the city, and, figuratively speaking, they roll in riches. They are leaving substantial reminiscences among their old acquaintances in the shape of costly presents, and intend proceeding to England in the American mail boat. The gross amount which Mr. Brighting has inherited is, it is affirmed, over £IOO,OOO. Considering that he occupied the lowest social position conceivable, this is one of the most marvellous strokes of fortune on record. On Tuesday last a boy apparently about six or seven years of age was found in a shed near Main-street, Greytown, in a situation and under circumstances which demand enquiry. The shed itself is an old stable, in which some straw is kept. The Wairarapa Standard says: —lt appears that for weeks past, the boy in question has been locked up in it, without proper clothing, without bedding, without fire, and possibly without proper food. Lonely, filthy, and neglected, the unfortunate child was found burrowing like an animal in a heap of straw. A little son of Mr. Mountain’s, of the Rising Sun Hotel, was the first to notice and report his unfortunate condition. At once Mr. Mountain, and others who became cognisant of the circumstances of the case, removed the boy from the shed, and had him cleansed and clothed. Probably had the child been left as he was much longer, his mind would have become permanently impaired ; as it was, when discovered he was evidently suffering mental as well as physical distress. It is stated that the boy’s father, who placed him in the shed, visited him at intervals and provided him with food.

We have given the facts of the case accurately and without exaggeration, as far as we can gather them. On the face of them it is evident that inquiry should be made by the proper authorities as to the truth of them, and if as we believe they are found to be as we have stated, the parent of the boy should be brought before the Resident Magistrate. We understand that there is a difficulty in the police taking up the case without direct evidence is obtained of neglect on the part of the. parent. In the meanwhile the father has taken the boy back to the shed.

The West Coast Times of the 24th instant sa y S: —"Mr. F. Manton, who has recently been appointed mining manager of the Mount Rangitoto Silver Mining Company, intends leaving to-day for the mine with several workmen, who will be fully equipped with tools and provisions, with the object of commencing operations. It is their intention, we understand, to at once commence putting in a tunnel under the present outcrop or lode of galena, and working the mine systematically. The work will be conducted with every economy until the lode is met with further in the hill, when an additional number of men will be put on. From appearances there is every reason to be sanguine that the lode will be found to thicken considerably when traced forty or fifty feet into the mountain. Mr. Manton's lengthened experience in the management of mines in the neighboring colonies and in South America should fully enable him to determine upon the best method of working the mine, which he has already visited. He will personally superintend the work, and report to the directors as it progresses." The Wellington correspondent of the Marlborough Times tells some truths more plain than personal when writing of matters political. He observes : " The position at present is peculiar and somewhat unwonted. The House is a perfect horse-leech, not for work, but for pabulum to work upon. It has, and has had for some time, the Financial Statement, the Counties Bill, the Financial Arrangements Bill, and so on; it has two separate and independent schemes propounded by private members; but it wants tables, and it wants the Public Works Statement, and so on again, as elements of what must be, when it comes to be consumed, and, as the vulgar would call it, a ' mortal _ gorge.' All we can wish is that good digestion may wait on appetite. There is much reason to fear that when all the elements of the feast are provided, it will be found that many who desire to deal with matters in fflobo, and at one fell swoop, will be found unequal to the expectations of .themselves which they themselves entertain. In many of the speeches on the abolition question last year there were indications of the politician and the statesman. This year there are many men of inferior culture who are more cavillers than cavaliers in battle political, and the possibility is that the more magnificent the subject the more insignificant will they appear in their treatment of it. The scope of their conceptions, and the style of their expressions, are infinitely meaner than their pretensions. Vide Rees and other prominent, though not eminent, Oppositionists." The writer of "Notes" in the Timaru Herald sa y S : —" Apropos of Dr. Featherston, a curious piece of what we may call secret history has transpired, which speaks much for that noble quality of single-mindedness attributed to him by those who knew him best. It is stated that some years ago, when the fatal disease which has now carried him away began to manifest itself unmistakeably, the doctor's physicians assured him that the only chance of saving his life lay in immediately going to a hot climate. At that time, as it happened, the Imperial Government were engaged in the annexation of Fiji ; and the circumstances referrsd to coming to the knowledge of Lord Carnarvon, he offered the invalid the appointment of Governor. Dr. Featherston, however, considered himself in duty bound to remain in the service of New Zealand, and with singular devotion, refused the offer of a post in which his years might very probably have been prolonged. It will be remembered that prior to the announcement of Sir Arthur Gordon's translation frem the Mauritius to Fiji, a report prevailed in New Zealand, and gained considerable credence, to the effect that Sir Donald McLean had been fixed on for the Government. This report was, if we remember rightly, publicly contradicted by Sir Donald ; and we have little doubt now that it arose out of a misunderstanding of the offer which was really made to Dr. Featherston."

We (New Zealand Herald) understand that the Sharebrokers Association have received a circular from the Acting-Inspector of the National Bank of New Zealand, which is likely-ito throw obstacles in the way of business "between client and broker, and which must, necessarily, affect the company's stock. Hitherto transactions of this kind have been done in the usual manner, but according to the new regulations, issued from the headoffice at Wellington, it is necessary, before a transaction can be completed, that a certain form be filled in with the name of the transferrer or his broker, and forwarded to the Wellington office, when a transfer is returned, which then can be filled up, and handed over to the buyer. It will be observed that ten days or more elapses ere the transfer can be received from Wellington, while the transferrer may probably live somewhere in the country, and as it is necessary that his signature be attached after it is received from Wellington, it is evident that it will cause infinite delay. The rule, no doubt, emanates from the London office, where communication with the most distant part of the kingdom can be had wibhin 48 hours, but in a new country like this such a stipulation as that imposed by the circular is out of the question. In this province, at any rate, bank shares are sold usually under a pressure for money, or another channel opening suddenly for investment of a more profitable nature, hence it is desirable that

restrictions of all kinds between buyer and seller be as few as possible. We understand that the Association have placed themselves in communication with the bank authorities, pointing out the inconvenience the regulation inflicts upon all parties concerned. Writing of the recent floods, the Wairarapa, Neivs says :—" Late information to hand confirms the report that although the floods of last week were severely felt throughout the district, no serious damage or detention was occasioned. On the Forty-mile Bush road some ten or twelve landslips occurred. Many of them were so trifling as to be unworthy of record. The heaviest took place at one of the blue clay cuttings, situated about seventeen miles above the Scandinavian Camp. It is estimated that at this slip alone 1000 cubic yards of stuff came down. Gangs of men were at once put on to clear away the debris, which was accomplished without delay. The rivers along the road were very high, the Manawatu and Tiraumea in particular. At the crossing of the former it is estimated that the flood was at least twenty-four feet above the ordinary water level. A portion of the road formation was swept away, but the damage is not serious. The through coach to Palmerston, which reached the Manawatu on Thursday, was unable to proceed further. The passengers were ferried across in a boat, and proceeded to Woodville on horseback. Next day (Friday) the water had gone down, still it was too high to admit of being forded. The other river crossings were high, but not impassable." STEWART'S ISLAND. The following extracts from the quarterly report of the coastwaiter, Stewart's Island, for the quarter ended 30th June, 1876, have been forwarded to us by direction of the Commissioner of Customs. TINNED FISH. The tinning of fish is still being continued, although conducted on a small scale—about a hundred dozen of lib tins being the maximum turn out of one week. From all I can learn, the speculation will pay, and experience having now shown them where their difficulties lie, and how best to overcome them, the proprietors inform me that they intend soon to enlarge their operations. Circumstances at the present seem to favor such a change, inasmuch as the extra number of men drawn hither to prosecute the oyster fishery, may make labor less difficult to get than formerly, and the addition to the. number of cutters passing to and from the Bluff will increase the facilities for transport. THE OYSTER FISHERY. The Half-moon Bay oyster bed still maintains its character for fertility, and has decidedly improved up to the present time ; but, indeed, the demands upon it have not been so great as might have been looked for from the number of cutters ostensibly engaged in the trade. This has arisen partly from the boisterous character of the two months by-past, and partly from several of the cutters having had to attend on the sealers, and also on parties engaged in mutton-birding. The cutters now at work are fourteen, and in no instance have they been fewer than nine; but the whole number of oysters removed from said oyster bed since the opening of the season at the beginning of April, would not exceed fifty-five thousand dozen. MUTTON-BIRDING. The season has been a successful one, indeed in all respects resembling that of last year, the number of birds brought home by the Stewart Islanders being about forty thousand. SEALING. The Snares have been taken possession of by two mobs of sealers from Stewart's Island, namely, fifteen men ; but a party of six men failed to effect a landing on the Solander, and the attempt to land was not renewed for the reason that they found a party of men from Riverton already on the island. The six men have returned, and will probably use up the remaining part of the season in visiting the seal haunts about Pegasus and the western shores of the island. WHALING. Since writing my last report, the sperm blubber brought into this place yielded twentythree tuns of oil to the Splendid, of Dunedin, and nineteen tuns to the Chance, of Invercargill. • The number of whales caught near the Solander and brought into Port William since the beginning of the season was twelve, which yielded 109 tuns of sperm oil. Of this quantity the Splendid got thirty tuns and the Chance thirty-eight tuns. The last mentioned vessel is now the only one on the whaling ground.