West Coast Times. MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1896

West Coast Times, Issue 10429, 7 December 1896, Page 2

West Coast Times. MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1896

Although the returns from all the con stituencfes are not yet in those yet by arrive will make very little difference in the voting strength of the two parties. The net result has been a decided gain to the Opposition, both in debating power and voting strength and though not strong enough £o oust the Government, they will be able to effect good work in keeping the Ministry in check* So far as we have been able to check the lists the results ars as follows : — Government, 36. Thompson, T. Lawry Holland O'Rorke Oadman M'Gowan Houston Carroll Symes Hogg O'Meara Stevens Field Wiiford Hutcheson Fisher Graham CVRegan Guinness Seddon Meredith Tanner Joyce Flatman Hall- Jones Steward ' Duncan M'Kenzie Allen • Millar Morrison Carncross Larnach "Ward Gilfedder Mills Opposition 26. Lang Masse> Herries Monk Bollard M'Lean Rusaell Capt. Hunter Brown M'Guire Buchanan Hutchison, G. Stout Carson Lethbridge Moose Lewis Rdlleston Wright Wason Mackenzie, S. Allen, J. Fish Fraser Thomson, J. W. Fish Indlpendekt—7, Crowther Thompson, R. Pirani ' .J3miih, &. o*. Taylor Kelly Montgomery There is one jreiurn i uncertain, that of Motueka, in which Mr R. M'Kenzie (Government) is heading Mr Hursthouse '(Opposition) by seven votes. Ther9 arethe Karamea returns yet to come and the result can only be a mattar 61 conjecture. Leaving this vote out of the question we find the Government with an assured working majority of three votes- only in place of the tremendous force of " dumb dogs " they had at their disposal during the^jvhole of last Parliament. Of that majority at least one, either Sir Maurice O'Rorke or Hon. W. J. Steward, will he given the Speaker's Chair, which reducesthe majority to two votes, included in which is Mr George Fisher, who must be placated with some office or emolument lif his support is' to be relied upon. The Opposition have gained enormously in debating powpr. In the South Island alone they have .'Messrs Rolleston, Scobie Mackenzie, Richardson, Wright and Moore, whilst their only losses of consequence have been Mr Button and Df Newman. Mr J. C. Macfarla.ie, surveyor, returned from the Waiho on Frdday, having completed the survey of the Waiho Sluicing Company's claims and water -race. He reports in very favorable terms of the company^ prospects. The ground is aii ancient bed of the.Callery, the golden branch of the Waiho, and is highly auriferous. The race will not be more than two miles long with 200 feet of pressure and 100 feet of fall and a supply 6f 60 ! heads in the driest weather. Now that thehuiiey-burley of local and general elections have passed, attention may be directed to the rapidly approaching feßtive season, and its ppecial features: •The bazaar to be promoted in , aid of the Hokitika Fire Brigade will, of course, be the leading feature of the holidays. The ', ladies' committee in connection with the bazaar will be called together at the end of the week for the purpose of completing the preliminary arrangements. From all accounts .the tickets in connection with the art union are finding a ready .sale all over 1 the colony, and the event promises to be a great success. Entries in connection with the athletic and cycling sports to be held here atChristmas close next Saturday. The excellent programme provided shofßd induce healthy competition tor the several events, and it is safe to anticipate a repetition of the usual high standard of success attending the previous meetings , provoted by the Hokitika Cycling Club.

A special meeting of the Hokitika Harbor Board will be neld this afternoon at 4 o'clock. Yesterday afternoon a man's leg, denuded of flesh, but with boot and sock on the foot, was found by Mr Dobson on the beach about a mile north of the Westland Sawmill. Inf ormafciqn was given <lb the police, and the remains taken to a place of safety and brought into town by Sergt. Fraser last night. The boot is a water tight and has recently been half -sol ad and heeled ; the sock is grey woollen. So far there is nothing to indicate from whence it came ; there is no record of a man being missiug, at least so far as the police are aware. From the appearance it is conjectured this poor remnant of mortality had been in £he water for some time. Another pioneer settler has " crossed the line " — namely, Mr James Lingard, who will be remembered by many in Wellington and Canterbury as a contractor for large works. He landed at Port Nicholson from the ship Gertrude in 1841 and (says ths Post) subsequently took pait in the Maori war. As a contractor he made most of the early main roads in Canterbury, and with his brother constructed, for drainage purposes, the tunnel which runs underneath the hills at Miriamar, which is supposed to have been the first tunnel bored in the colony. At the recent Canterbury November Show the Agricultural and Pastoral Association gave prizes in cash to the amount of £772 ss, while the prize money contributed by private individuals aggregated £134 18s. Besides these amounts there were given away five gold meduls, representing £26 ss, twenty-five silver medals £50, and four bronze medals £4. Taken altogether, these totals amount to £987 8s ; out if to this sum total be added the ?alue of the gold cup privately presented, the total value of prizes amounts, as nearly as possible, to £1000. The first European child born in New Zealand was the eldest son of the Rev. John King, and he was bora in 1815. We are not told how long he lived, but his brothei, the second son, born in 1817, died only a few years ago. William Spence King, whose death has just .taken place, was the third gon, an<l was bom in 1819. The first white girl born in the Colony was the daughter of Mr Hansen, Mrs King's brother, born in 1817. She is still living, and is said to have attended church at Russell a few weeks ago, quite strong and active. A side-light upon the frequent mention of Colonel Baden Powell in South Af ri can cabled despatches is thus accounted for by a correspondent of the Argus : — Absurd telegrams continue to come from Rhodesia, which are often contradicted next day. The fact is there are no newspaper correspondents of much account there. It was announced that Lord Rosmead had ordered Baden Powell, of the 7th Hussars, to be put under open arrest in consequence of the latter having allowed a Matabele rebel chief to be shot. Baden Powell, howe,ver, seems to keep on fighting battles constantly. The older for arrest was rather "playing to the gallery," and may have been intended to convince the Concert of Europe of our good intentions generally. The member of the Baden Powell family now in Rhodesia is the able3t of all the brothers— a tall, handsome young man, and smart soldier. His name figures almost daily in press despatches, and unkind people say that he himself sends these telegrams, usually mentioning that Colonel Baden Powell has gone from nowhere to nowhere — which is, of course, absurd. Observer writes to the 'Post — The strange variable, star in The Whale (Cetus) Mira Geti, the wonder star of the whale, is now again visible. I saw it first on 22nd November, as a jsfcar of 5J magnitude, but it was only just visible. I, saw it more plainly on the 27th Novem - ber. The star is t ! ie puzzle of astronomers. It varies in brightness, -being when at its best of the second magnitude, but sometimes it is only of the 'third ; and the intervals about 10 months, t between the brightest periods, are not always of the same length. But no one .has ever given any reason to explain the cause of tthese differences. The -star at its brightest shines .with a dull, red light, and its spectrum does not differ materially from the spectra of other red stars. Mira is easily found. Under Orion, and to the left, is the V-shaped cluster 'Hyades in the Bull, with the bright red star Aldebaran at the point. Draw, on the upper side of this V. 'line from Aldebaran to the left, and at five lengths of this V. three stars will be seen forming a sharppointed triangle. A second line, diawn on the upper side of this triangle, will' touch Mira at the same distance from the second star as that is from the star at the point of the triangle. These stars are in a barren part of the sky, and so can hardly be missed. The increase and lessening of Mira's brightness will be well 1 worth watching. The bright red planet Mars, on the right of the Hyades, will be' at its brightest on the 10th of December.