Tuapeka Times AND GOLDFIELDS REPORTER AND ADVERTISER. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 1887. "MEASURES, NOT MEN." Local and General Intelligence.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XX, Issue 1334, 16 March 1887, Page 2

Tuapeka Times AND GOLDFIELDS REPORTER AND ADVERTISER. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 1887. "MEASURES, NOT MEN." Local and General Intelligence.

The continuation of " A trip to Melbourne and back " by an old Lawrence resident will be found in to-day's supplement. Thb London "Standard" published a telegram on Monday from a St Petersburg correspondent stating that an unsuccessful attempt had been made to assassinate the Czar. At a meeting of the Obstetrical Society of London, held on the 13th January, 1887, Dr Withers, Resident Surgeon of the Tuapeka Hospital, was elected a member of the Society, and had the honorary degree of " Fellow " cod ferred upon him,

Tflß Peter's pence for the past year amounted to £60000. The total Vatican receipts were £240 000. The budtrefc for the coming year shows a deficit of £60.000. J. B. KhHR, proprietor of the Kingston Hotel, was killed on Sunday through a railway track passing over him. The track, which had the brake pinned down, was set in motion by a strong N.W. gale. Gknebal Booth, of the Salvation Army, said in the course of a recent interview in New York that he bad travelled 29 days of te» hou-* each in America, and had saved in all 25 000 souls, or at the rate of one every two miuutee. A FAfER printed not a hundred miles from Dunedin contained the following advertisement: "Lost a cameo brooch, representing Venus and Adonis on the St. Clair road about ten o'clock on Wednesday evening." The playing off for Mrs Gordon's prize took place on the tennis green on Saturday afternoon, when Messrs Campbell and Roscow beat Messrs Crooke and Edgar, Campbell subsequently beat Robcow and was declared winner. Two Chinese warships are expected in Australian waters shortly. They bring the members of a Commission charged by the Pekin Government with the duty of iuquiring into the political and social relations of Chinese in the colonies. The members of the Commission will, doubtless, be f6te<3 at the Chinese Camp, Lawrence. The Hon. the Premier, delivered an address at Marton on Friday evening. The subjects dealt- with were much the same as those he treated of in the recent address to his constituents. He announced, however, that it was probable a bill would be introduced next, session to provide for the resumption of private lands in some districts. Thb Tuapeka County rate collector notifies by advertisement that legal proceedings will be taken for the recovery of rates without fui ther notice; also, that ratepayers in arrears after 3rd instant will be omitted from the electoral roll. It would be well, therefore, for those interested, and who do not wi'bq to be disfranchised, to attend to their interests in this matter, as the general election of councillors will take place in November next. Canain Smith, of the Salvation Army, has been paying the capital city a visit, and declares that " Wellington is the darkest, blackest, and most sinful city in New Zealand," This is I exactly what many observers have contended ' all along, but the Wellington people would not j believe it. However, now Captain Smith has spoken there can be no longer room for doubt. Sack-cloth is to be bought in Auckland cheap, and Wellington can provide its own ashes. We have to acknowledge the receipt of the Crown Lands Gaide.No. rm. t from the Government printer. Special attention is directed to the alterations in this edition with respect to the agricultural deferred-payment system ; the system of peri etual leasing ; the new clauses respecting the leasing of small areas ; the small grazing run system, with right of removal ; the homestead system; and much other general information respecting the lands of the Colooy. The monthly meeting of the Lawrence Branch of the Blue Ribbon Society was held on Friday evening ; Mr Robert Neill in the chair. The programme for the evening consisted of— A solo by Mr W. G. Uquhartj address by the chairman ; reading, " A story of the Old Hundred," Mrs W. G. Anderson; reading, "Buy your own cherries." Mas' era Clark and Bryant ; address, by Mr John Edie ; address, by Rev. Mr Fraser ; recitation, by Mr John Wilson ; reading, by Mr Sbenhouse ; hymn. The meeting closed with the benediction. Addressing a meeting at Birmingham on Friday night last, Mr Chamberlain declared that the points of discord between the Unionists, Liberals, and the followers of Mr Gladstone were so few and of such secondary importance tbat be was not aware of any reason why an agreement between the, two parties had not yet been effected. Everything rested with Mr Gladstone, and the longer he delayed in bringing about a settlement the wider the separation would prove. Mr Chamberlain expressed a hope that the Government would introduce a bill for the final settlement of the Irish land question at the same time that the Irish Crimes Bill was brought forward, The necessity of extending the telephone to Rica Junction should soon impress itself on the minds of the postal authorities. There is a large area of country in this direction, including Crookßtoo, Dunrobio, and Beaumont, all thickly settled ; but if anyone wishes to send a telegram he must come into Lawrence— a vary long distance to travel. It is about seventeen miles to Raes Junction, and telephonic communication would be a very great convenience to people who have to send a messenger into Lawrence iv case of emergency. There are poles nearly the entire way, and it would not cost much to run out another wire. We feel certain that the extension would be attended with profit to the department. From all accounts the settlers intend moving in the matter shortly through the member for the district The " Southland Times " says :— A gentleman in Tasmania, writing to a friend in Southland says that the tin mine on Mount Btschoff is a wonderful discovery, and he supposes there is nothing like it in the world for richness in that metal. It is a mountain of tin from which 250 tons of ore is taken every week, and £2,500 is paid in wages every fortnight when in full swing. The scarcity of water at that elevation is the greatest drawback— things flourish when it rains every day. Mouot Bischoff is nut, however, a pleasant place to reside at continuously, the winters being long and dreary, and even in the middle of January a hard frost killed all garden stuff. Living is dear, orincipally because of the cost of transit ; the V.D.L. Railway Co. charging £3 par ton for 47 miles. There are representatives of a'l nations assembled at the mines, but they are an orderly if motly crew and temperate withal. The Rev. J. M. Reid, Presbyterian olergy man, and editor of the Auckland "Evening Bell," thus discourses on clergymen in hn issue of March l*t :— lt is a strange psychological paradox in human nature, but it is a fact of experience, that the crudest and most cold blooded human being on earth in given circumstances is a parson, It may be tbat familiarity with incidents and motives that melt and melt again the heart, ultimately iaduratas the feelings, and makes the heart impervious to emotion ; or it may be that the consciousness of the service and the presence of the Supreme exempts from submission to the claims of mercy, But the most heartless landlords in Ireland are clergymen ; the most cruel, unrelenting magistrate in England to the offending starving peasant or poacher is the parson on the bench ; ecclesiastics have presided over the torture by the thumb-screw and the boot jack in the baa old times, with a bloodless earnest* ness that a worldly, sinful mind could only feel, and there is not a deliberative assembly in Christendom that would have turned a deaf ear to such a prayer as this from Tonga, but an assembly of ministers of religion, A special meeting of the Borough Council was held on Saturday morning to consider tha application of Messrs Herbert and Co. for a three months' water supply for a hydraul>'c enifine. Present— His Worship the Mayor and Crs Chalmers, Morrison, Fraer, Dodds. M'Coy, Johnston, and Walker. After some discussion, Cr M'Coy proposed, and Cr Chalmers seconded : " That the resolution already arrived at be adhered to." This resolution embodied the suggestion of the Water Works Committee that a meter be procured to grange the supply, and that Messrs Herbert and Co. be charged at the rate of Is Cd per thousand gallon?, — Cr Walker proposed as an amendment, and Cr Johnston seconded : " That the off-w of Messrs Herbert and Co. of £1 a week for three months be accepted." — Cr Dodds proposed as a fui ther amendment : " That Messrs Herbert and Co. be charged £1 a week for a supply of water for their engine." — The Mayor ruled this latter amendment out of order, as the meeting had been called to consider the matter of a three months' supply.— On Cr Walker's amendment being put. Crs Johnston. Dodds, Morrison, and the mover voted for it, Crs Fraer, Chalmers, and M Coy voting against it. — The Mayor declared the amendment carried.— Cr Fraer in. sisted on the Mayor exercising his deliberative and casting vote, and asked for a division.— Cr Morrison said the amendment had already been declared carried, and He the room, followed by Crs Walker, Johnston, and Dodds. There being now no quorum, the meeting lapsed. The position now is this : Those who voted for the amendment maintain that it was canhd, the Mayor having duly declared it so ; while those who opposed the amendment declare that the whole proceeding was void, the Mayor having refrained from voting though taking part in the business ; and besides, when a division was called for there was no quorum. The matter will again come up on the reading of the minutes at the next ordinary meeting.

Ah extraordinary "Gazette," issued on Monday afternoon, further 'prorogues Parliament until the 23 rd of March. Extensive preparations have been made for the annual St. Patrick's day enter ainment, and a thoroughly successful evening may be looked forward to. The Ettrick races to-morrow should attract a la; ge gathering from all parts. The pro* gramme includes some very good events, and nothing is wanted but fine weather to ensure a pleasant outing. One of the witnesses in the inquiry into the burning of Mr M'Nickle'a premises stated in evidence that there was no fire at 1.15 that morning, as had there been the slightest smell of fire " he would hare heard it." Thb question of police protection is still agitating the minds of Wdipori residents. A largely-signed petition has been forwarded to the Minister of Justice, and Mr F. W. Knight* on behalf of the residents, has telegraphed to Sir Julius Yogel, protesting against the pro* posed step. Thb rabbit inspector for Tuapeka has arranged meetings of landowners all over the district in order to fix the programme t«t poisoning operationsduring the coming winter. The rabbits still continue to hold their own, acd unless immediate steps are taken they will again be makin ■- headway. The Rev. C. and Mrs Griffin left Lawrence by yesterday afternoon's train. Before settl* ing down in their new home at Greymoutb, they will take a trip around Auckland and Waikato. A large number of Mr and Bin Griffin's friends assembled on the platform to bid them God -speed and wish them a happy and prosperous future. The members of the Blue Spur Draughts Club played their usual match on Monday evening. Messrs Lavrsoo, M'Hattie, A. Campbell, Harris, and S. Ellis were pitted against Messrs O. Campbell, G. Siddall, D-M'Farlane, R. Neill, and J. M'Oombe, with the result that the latter won 13 games to their op* ponencs' 8. There were two drawn games. A SALE "£ groceries and other stock of a domestio and general obaraoter is announced for Friday, when Mr John Thompson will sell by auction th>> whole of Messrs T. WiUun and Co.'s stock. la consrqueioe of the recent fir*, there will be » comple c clearance of everything. Several sections owned by Messrs Mackerras and H.izlett in various parts of Law* rence will also be offered for sale. Aftbe waxing eloquent over the deoision of the Appeal Court in the case of Thomas Hall, the Bruce " Herald" consoles itself with the consciousness that the great arch-poisoner ''has yet to appear before one who can judge motives as well as actions, thoughts as well as deeds, before whose eyes all things are naked and open, and in whose court technicalities avail not, and the most skilful pleader? could not hope to dear the guilty." Thb Rev. Mr Griffin held his farewell service in the Wesleyan Church, Lawrence, on Sunday morning, when there was a fair congregation. The Tuapeka Volunteers, of which Mr Griffin waa chaplain, held a parade in connection with the service. The t<xfe taken was H. Corinthians, xvii. 14s "The grace of the Lord Jesns Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all." At the close of a very impressive sermon, the rev. gentleman addressed a few remarks to the volunteers. While mindful of their duty to their country, he trusted they would nob forget their duty to their common Master. A fibs occurred at Tuapeka West on Monday afternoon, which resulted ia the destruction of over £30 wo-th of property- The threshing mill of Mr David Dewar was at work on a stack of oats belonging tj Messrs Macdonnell Bros, when aspaikfrom tho engine suddenly ignited the straw, and ia a few seoon Is the whole stack was atl^za. The men set to work to save the^ mil, which they succeeded in re* moving, with the exception of the elevator, which was destroyed. There were over 200 buihels of oats in the stack, besides a Urge quantity of straw. There was no insurance, so the 1 ibs will fall pretty heavily on both parties, for whom much sympathy is felt. The Government has received a letter from Josiah Claridge, formerly resident of Wellington, written from Brunnerton, warning hashmen and others from going to the West Coast in hopes of obtaining employment on the Midland railway. He says men are trooping there from all directions as if there was a new rush, but unless some new contracts are let quickly the unemployed difficulty will soon be felt there with an intensity hitherto unknown ia this Colony. Claridge says it is no good men aoming on the strength of getting the name of the contractors alleged by agenxs to be in want of men, as on arrival on the West Coast they are sure to be told there is no work for them. It is really painful to see men arriving daily who have only managed to make up enough to defray their passage, and have neither the means of supporting themselves nor of going elsewhere and no prospect of getting work, Wages on the Midland contract are, he says, about to be reduced from 9i to 8j a day. and owing to the weather, men, even when they get work, cannot make more than half-time. A STBON6 light is throwa on the " lower crust " of Ife in London by the following ex» tract from a repot t which appeared in a city paper on a poor wretch who h^d committed suicide:— "Soon after the body had been taken to the mortuary, a woman rushed into the police station and asked the officer in charge if she could see ' the man who had hung himself,' The officer asked her if she was a relative, but the reply was ' No, I ain't exactly a relative, but I saw the poor ohap about twenty minutes before he did >t, and he asked me if I couH lend him 44. I knew he was starving and, G-od knows, I would have lent him 41 if I had got it, but I pulled out all the money I'd got in my pocket, and offered it to him. It was I^l. He looked at it and said. 'No my wench ; if you've only got three-half-pence you are as bad off as I am.' He wonld not have it. but walked away, and twenty minutes after I heard he had bung himself." What novelist ever conjured up a stronger picture of utter misery and destitution ? and who shall say that there is no heroism on the battlefield of life? ' Wb regret that owing to a breach of duty on the part of the Town Clerk, we are unable to give our readers a full report of the very inforesting proceedings which transpired at a special meeting of the Borough Council on Saturday morning. A special meeting was called to consider the application of Messrs Herbert and Co. for a three months' water supply for a water engine ; and as the matter is fraught with a great deal of importance to the local public, the action of the Council in connection with the question is surrounded with unusual interest. Besides, the Council areknowa to be pretty equaly divided on the subject, and the ratepayers were anxious to know how they would act ; and in the face of this Mr Uren convenes a special meeting of the Council by circular, but carefully refrains from extending the usual courtesy to the press. Consequently, the meeting is held in a hole-and-corner manner, and nobody outside the Council is a bit the wiser of what has taken place. It is usual for all public bodies when convening meetings of members to send a circular to the press, but it would seem that the Lawrence B.irough Counc 1 has yet to learn its duty in this respect, A riSHEBjtAN died lately down in Riverina, leaving behind him a beggarly collection of furniture, fishiag nets, some antique shotguns and two brace of rusty horse pistols. As he had oo relations in the colony, the clerk of Petty Sessions, as agent for the Curator of Intestate Estates, took possession of the property and advertised it for sale. A big crowd rolled up at the Bale. The furniture and fishing tackle were soon sold • S, the firearms being reserved till the last. Now, gentlemen, said the auctioneer, here you have a superb collection of shooting irons, and if any nf you are troubled with the hen roost robbers I confidently advise yon to go in for one of these good old-fashioned horse pistols. See here, he said, cocking the pistol he had in hand, though they look old. they are in first-rate— bang ! and a shower of slugs from the accursed firearm sent the Sunday bell-topper of. the Mayor, who happened to be standing by, into a million fragments ronnd the room ! Carry me home, carry me home, feebly implored the Mayor when he got his breath ; the infernal thing hag blown my brains oat I—" Bulletin."

A bah.t competitive trial has been taking piaoa at Goldsbrough, Victoria, with Wolsey*s ■b^puhearing machine, and the work done has been satisfactory. The ex perta will give their decision on Monday. Ojr tearing Milton for Lawrence, Constable Dupgan waa the recipient of a flattering compliment at the hands of Milton residents. About thirty gentlemen, representing all interettt, aaiembied at the White Horsx Hotel on Thursday evening laat to bid him Godspeed and prosperity in hit new home. Daring hi* it,»y in Milton, Constable JDuggan won for himself the xpproval of the community by the manner in which he discharged his duties. Ah occasional correspondent sends as the following items from Roxburgh :— The liceos* Ing committee electioo on Friday caused a little more stir than usual. Seven candidates were in the field, and the five elected are Messrs Grover, Telford, Lftbgoe, Steele, and Pitchers. It is not unlikely that a move will be made to close the hotels within the Borough at eleven instead of twelve o'clock at night.— The bridge Is rapidly drawing towards completion, It ia understood that the Borough Council will' take steps to have a pal lie demonstration on the day when the bridge is declared open for traffio.— The contractor (Mr Egglestone) is pushing on with the new school building, The children and teachers will hail the day with feelings of delight when the order is given to close up the old building and assemble in the new one.— The Jrtrick races on Thursday (St. Patrick's D<ty) are likely te draw a lot of folk from this quarter. Large fields and good sport will in all probability be the order of the day.