What Evergbody Says.

Thames Star, Volume IIII, Issue 1765, 29 August 1874, Page 2

What Evergbody Says.

" In multitude of counsellor* there is safety." —OtD'FabVzMi*

So Alexander Kerr has turned up again —this time in the Empire City/ He wants to throw people off the . scent. Many guesses have been made as to his identity, but no one ever dreamt that he was a Member of Assembly. After stifling the Thames Engineeis, offering his services to settle the Waikato difficulty by hanging the murderer who caused so much excitement twelve months ago, th»hangman once more emerges from his retirement prepared .to do the last; offices j | for Superintendents and their Provincial Executives. Alexander Kerr is übiquitous ; and the public spirit with which he seems to be actuated is everywhere' appreciated and by evorybody—except those whose tenure of life-he is so anxious to shorten. His kind intentions are most commendable, and for the last enumerated services . for which he-has volunteered he* deserves a public reception when it shall please him to: return from Wellington. He should have been in Auckland, though, last Saturday night to assist at the' : auto da fe in which Auckland representatives figured so prominently. The citHns „ appear to have bungled the affair saaly; the professional services of Alexander Kerr, would have added lustre to the enlightened proceedings enacted on barrack . hill. ' , The deluded indiriduali who were attracted to Queensland- some months ago. :by the reputed richness of the new §»I<]L , ; discoveries are returning one by one.The familiar faces which pf old adorned the verandah, and were then missed for a time are once more beginning to put in such an appearance as fever and ague has left to them, and some of them are honest enough to say there is no place like the , Thames yet. This is saying a good deal, ibut it is what some of the deluded ones : can Bay with, thankfulness on returning from a country and a climate, to escape j which with life is a mercy. There is too 'much' reason' to fear, however, that some of the bone and sinew of the mining population who were allured from tbH by, the prospectof suddenly becoming rich are now undergoing a prboew of inoicmation

ontlio tropical pl»insj}f tlie Palmer—a process, which requires no firework accessories beyond the sun's fervent heat k> complete what the climate begins. Ouly those who have rereturnod can speak of the narrow escape they tiavo had, and the horrors to ■which they voluntarily exposed themselves in the prosecution of their search for gold ; which appears to Have l>eon as generally unsuccessful as the., reports .which attracted them were exaggerated. People.who read mining news in the newspapers will have noticed that the Kapanga mine:has recently started work again, on the strength of certain remittances from tho English proprietary. How little those people know of their property or the goldfield generally may be gathered from a speech by ono of the prominent shareholders' at a meeting held m London. This shareholder, a t Mr. "Wray, is reported to have said:— :" I do *4jl|jmn-k'we ought to part without someyflpEb cheer us. I kuow sonietnmg of thi^s company, ;wliich I can safely . say ,te tioyr iboked upon in Now 2ealand-as the best one there. The .chief mine hitherto has been the Caledonia.. It.is on the. same, fange of biountains as the Kapafogia^-^-the highest up the yalley, and I think on-i •pace of only six acres paid, as you know, upwards of £500,000 in dividends in six man^hs. i That is now unfortunately filled with water. The owners formed a junction with other mines in' the neighbourhood, and got a largo quantity, of machinery, but they are! still under a" cloud. In thecolonyitself, my/informant . writes nic to'say, that universally they look upon the Eapanga *».s the mine of the whole country. We nave, ai yoii remember, the adjoining piece of ground'now, which was the Glasgow claim, large enough to keep us going for a great num--ber of years; and about its worth there can be no doubt, for when the old workers left it the lode was worth something like 3£ ounces per ton of stuff. Thus I think that we have .the yery best prospect in riew, and it is only a matter of a little More time]' "tfiat it, 1 in fe^ird; to bringing us to success. v I look upon it myself as; an absolute certainty, and feel that all we have to do is- to:exercise: that.patience which we all know is so essential in mining matters;" ! Fancy the Eapafaga beingre- _ garded as thebestmineiri -New Zealand, be-; side which all pur Thames fmines ar^Al; nbthihg; Imagine, top,' tb© " Oafedonia';; being fillei^ with r water; It is' clearlhat '", Verjr few of meu elaborate monthjy sum-^ 'maries prepiired for, the special informa-; tpi of hpinereaders find -their wayiiome,, O]r.els^s. Mr. TVisiyand his credulous cor shareholders are"confiding beyorid, belief,, and look upon their private, sources oflin-.; formation as being; more accurate than the public journals. /Jfo; one will envy the; success of the Kapanga ; in fact;'most; people would like to see it turning out a lot of gold, as calculated to induce further intestments;of; English.capital;.but ;the 4 idea that the Kajpanga is-the(best mine in vWew Zealand will not go down in the colony if it does at home. '. h ";■. ; ; In one of the municipal bye-laws there is a clause which provides for ; those trifle ing offencefOc^siiriedbVCthe sexuberant joyousness of youth, 'such; as the blowing of a wind instrument; the beating of a .. drum, a kerosene tin, a,gridiron, or, other instrument, to the annoyance of the public. This provision, "to the annoyance of the public," it will be seen, allows the instrumentalists considerable latitude, because the. preliminary course of action is to ascertain whether the public is aggrieved. At an hour last night when; according.to Hamlet's theory, the spirits of our departed fellow creatures are wont to burst their cerements and give their cramped limb 3an airing, the residents of Pollen-street were awakened from their repose by the mournful blowing of a horn of most powerful compass. Supposing the blower to have been affected with a blighted affectiom, little excuse could be made for him; but if he was blowing that horn for his musical taste, he deserves to be "blown"to death with4>lue-bottles. The next best thing to passing a law for the abatement of these nuisances, would be'to impose one for compelling tlie public to wade through the columns of'the newspapers in order that they may become acquainted with the law.