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Thames Advertiser, Volume IX, Issue 2437, 6 October 1876, Page 2

An intense amount of interest was evinced in the result of the first retorting for tbe Waitekauri Gold Mining Company, and the first escort of gold from tbe Waitekauri district, amongst all classes of yesterday, and pigeongrams from our special correspondent was anxiously enquirocl after. It appears that the party which left Grahamstown on Wednesday evening in the chartered steamer 'Ruby,' made an early start from Paeroi some on horseback, tome on foot, but all seem to have arrived in time for tho retortings. The entertainment which they received in Mackaytown must, however, have caused unusual delay, for although the steamer was to have left Paeroa to return to the Thames at 5.30 last evening, she. had not put in an appearance up to the time of going to press. The s.s. 'Lalla Kookli,' which was to have left for Auckland at. eight o'clock, remained for two hours to suit the convenience of passengers to Auckland, but had to proceed on ber journey without the Waitekauri excur. sionists. At the time of the expected arrival of the escort last night a large crowd assembled at the end of the Grabamslown Wharf, but as the tide receded and left no hopes that the steamer could arrive until the next tide, they went away disappointed,

A meeting of the committee appointed by the conference of Borough Council and Highway Board members, held on Wednesday, met Mr Warwick Weston (director of the Pumping Association) and Mr G. Black (manager) at the Council Chambers, but it was decided for the present to keep the result of their deliberations private. We understand, however, that • a telegram has been forwarded to the Thames representatives upon the subject of the position of the Pamping Association, after which the meeting adjourned until to-day. : \

' Oar telegraphic correspondence yesterday did not, it appears, convey an accurate idea of the position of the 'Southern Cross.' newspaper < company. There is to be no : composition,, ; Every creditor of the company is to be paid ia full, and the. shareholders will receive at th« rate of 10s per share on each share which they hold in the company's stock. -As the shares are £10 shares, this is probably what our correspondent meant by a composition of Is- in " the £.

: We (Auckland 'Star') learn that freßh proceedings are to be entered in the Ponsonby case by the Ratepayers' Committee. We really would suggest some compromise. Roth sides have fought game'y, and these protracted proceedings will intetfere with the collection of the rats, and consequently affect the payment of the Government subsidy We have no donbt both parties have the interests of the district at heart, and we believe those interests will best be served now by a cessation of hostilities,

: The Auckland 'Star,' commenting on the action of tlio native.Emanuel in turning back theKaimai prospectors,, says:-" A specimen of how the natives work the oracle under the guardianship of a paternal Native Office is given in a Tauranga telegram of to-day. &.■ gra'celcea savage named Kmauuel has turned back two prospectors from Kaimai. The man 'claims to represent the so-called Maori King in some way, and asserts tho dusky monarch's, sovereignty over the laid. ■ It is really about iime the cnrtiin fell on this sort of ,o'he • objeeb is .too palpable to be mistaken, - It is ' a repetition of the .time-honoured dodge". of trumping up fictitious claims upoii land which hps been bought andpiid for twice" over, by the' Government, and thus' exacting'! blackmail. In many cases the Government, in its anxiety to swee'en the natives' have been weak enough to buy off unprincipled opposition, only to find that, like noxious weeds, a ranker growth eucceeda the first. These constant checks and obstructions inter* posed at the mere whim of any brtcchlesa savage who roams at his own sweet will over ' the face of the country, must be very galling to the industrious miner, seeking to develop in an lionesb and a lawful way, the natural resources of the country. ' If the Native Office do not promptly step in and put the brake upon its may yet have to. record, and we should do fo vith deep legret, that the miners, exasperated beyond all patience by meddling and bumptious savages, have gone on the ground with 'persuaders' and 'toothpicks,' and tried the effect of, a little personal argument upen the corpusses of the obstruc« tionisls"

There were no eases for hearing at the Police Court yesterday. The Wellington correspondent of the, A'uck* land ' Star' in reference to the discussion on the Counties Bill, says Sir George Grey's persistent opposition to the Counties Bill is simply from a desire to remedy its many glaring defects, and to prevent the mischiefs that must arise from an ill-digested measure. The Government beiDg sure of a majority on most of the provisions, reject Sir George Grey's kindly aid with high-handed-'obstinacy, ffe moved one amendment with regard to the distribution of funds, so as to give time to the Government to frame a clause providing for the distribution of ttonies in cases where there was no highway machinery in the out-districts. This and another amendment, moved by Mr Keader Wood, limiting the distribution.to. road boards, were losji.; . Mr Whitaker promised, after a great wasteof time, that the defects pointed outshould be remedied by re-coiumittirig the bill at a future stage. : Sir George Grey, in replying to Mr Whitaker/ said'the House could not place implicit reliance on his legal -dicta. - The clause was ultimately postponed. The Opposition has been careful to avoid anything like factious obstruction, their'only desire being to render the measure efficient, - The party has achieved some good by inserting a clause to prevent councils paying interest out of borrowed money, a very wholesome check. There was also an attempt to limit the borrowing power of the Councils, which was not successful.'

The TaranaH Nevis, referring to the iron Band experiment about to be tried at the Henui works, saysOn Thursday evening some experiments with the compound bricks were conducted at the works by Mr. -Smith in a small improvisioried furnace'about'3tt by 4ft in dimension A pound of compound brick consisting of 4 parts iron sand and 1 part ferruginous clay, or tufa/ was placed in a small "plumbago crucible, to which was added a quarter of a pound of : powdered lime and a quarter of-a pound of trachyte rock, and a small quantity of powered ch-rcoal ; The 'crucible was then placed in the little furnace, which was charged with charcoal and coke, anda c'oid blast applied. In thirty minutes the crucible was uncovered, and the contents were seen to-be boi'ing like porridge. The mass was poured ont on the floor, and the result was a nugget of fine metal which grated under the file, and presented a lustrous appearance where abraded. The experiment was repeated with one and a half pounds of biick'aud a quarter of a pound each of lime, and trachyte, and a little charcoal, the result being several rough nuggets of metal, and a quantity of light vitreous slag. Some prepared bricks were then thrown into the furnace with some broken trachyte and a few handtuls of powered lime. In a short time tho particles of brick were in a plastic state, bending when lifted by the stoking iron. In an hour the metal flowed out of the vent of the furnace. These experiments were conducted with a very rough apparatus, but they demonstrated the possibility of reducing tbe ore by the appliance of ordinary care and skill.

Wiltshire, the pedestrian, has been summoned for assault in Wellington. The Times thus refers to the case :—'" An assault ease which came before the Besident Magistrate's Court yesterday crested some fun. Wiltshire, the pedestrian, was defendent, but did not appear, his wife appearing for him. The particulars of the case did not come before the Court, but it was ascertained from a statement of counsel that complainant was alleged to have used a revolver to defendant, Mrs Wiltshire had this pistol. It caused some uneasiness round the Court. It was loaded in six barrels, and Mrs ■Wiltshire was carrying it about in a kind of way which suggested the painful thought that it might go off and kill somebody. It is stated that this revolver was at one time seen pointing ia the direction of the Magistrate's head, and that he winked, . Within five minutes the revolver had pointed round the compass about fifty times, and the effect of its presence there was shown. The passage between the witness box and the wall cleared quicker than it: ever was before by. the bailiff. Then Mrs ffiltthire went to advise her counsel, Mr Buckley, about the case, and he took a deep interest in her words until he found himself looking down the muzzle of the revolver. Then he turned away and addressed the Court. Evenlual'y the weapon was got rid of, being placed in the care of the clerk, who put it away carefully, the case being adjourned until Wiltshire has sompleted his 1,000 miles stroll.

The Melbourne correspondent of the Ballarat 'Star' is responsible for the following: — *' Arthur Oiton, the real, the veritable, that legal myth of whom so many were incredulous, lias been found The Tichborne bonds are up again. By the time this is perused by our readers the news will have been cabled to England, to gladden tbe heart of the confinee of Newpate, and the holders of Tichborne debentures • "will have fumbled the crisp documents in their cash-boxes, and have speculated how they shall expend their prospective fortunes. To the Melbourne agent of the Claimant belongs the credit of the discovery, for after intense fossicking he has discovered—or believes he has —the real -Arthur Orton, who has been for many years under the alias of Alfred Smith, an. inmate of the lunatic asylum, on the banks of the Paramatta Biver, within 15 miles of Sydney. Like ' London Journal'novelettes, further particulars are deferred until next mail, but meantime the friends of the weighty Claimant are exceedingly gladdened by the intelligence."

They still buck the tiger, says the New York Herald, in the most approved fashion out in Nevada, and that expensive beaet couldn't' have a more convenient jungle than .Virginia. City. He is hot ohly tolerated!" but the'best people of the city are on familiar terms with him. ' Judges! lawyers, mining snperintendents, and even clergymen, do not find it at all necessary to fold secrecy around,their somewhat frequent visits to his lair. Faro is one of the recognised and legitimate .industries of. the town. The high licenses'which .the' owners, of ' games are compelled to pay constitute a rich source of revenue to the city aiid form the .strongest possible argument with the lawgivers for allowing the tiger to flourish. Mere moral objections are weak by the side of stacks of twenties. The city has at'present sixteen faro Banks, and the proprietor of one of the. most flourishing faro Banks reports that the. expense of running the games, exclusive of license, foot up 27,400d01s per year. One of the two Banks' with which the. Gold Hill is blessed clears' regularly every month 5000dols. vet the average Comstoeker feels rather insulted when one who isnot to the manner born hints that one does riot get fair play at faro. A popular delusion prevails that faro is conducted 'on the square' at Nevada, the fact' that the owners of the game live, as a general thing,' in about as handsome houses as can be seen in' the'city, and that they are themselves behind fast horses, counts for nothing with the gambling'.Comstoeker, who invariably has his 'system'nearly perfected, and is sure to 'bust the game* before long: This ardently longed for triumph is occasionally, achieved. Within the past bix months no less than four games have been cleaned out. They were, however, comparatively poverty stricken concerns,. having but $2000 or §3000 capital. Most of the Banks no w running have a backing of from §50,000 to §100,000, and ohe inslitu-' tion has §100,000 as a foundation, .

To IHE PoBHO AT THE THAMES OOIiD?IELD, — A gentlemon for many years in my employ is now in England selecting, on my account, goods specially adapted for this province. ; ;To make room for consignments shortly expected, I {shall, for the present, offer my large stock (to which I invite your attention), at unusually low prices, with, extra' allowance for cash. My Book Stock comprises Standard Works in Theology, History, the Science?, Travel, Fiction, and Poetry; elegantly-bound Gilt and Tablebooks; many thousand volumes adapted for children and young persons, libraries, and prizes; Educational Books (used in the rchools under,the Board of Education); Technical and Toy Books, Maps, ftc. In Stationery I keep full stocks of every description required for the desk, counting-house, and private use. To teachers under the. Board I act as agent—receiving and forwarding their salaries monthly, I shall be happy to supply Lists of Works in any department of literature,' All orders with which I may bo favoured will receive my prompt and careful . .attention, — Edward Waits, 101, Queen-street, Auckland,-Sept, 30, 3876. „> ./