Tuesday.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XII, Issue 17, 15 August 1884, Page 13

Tuesday.

Severity of the weather (says the Ross correspondent of the Hokitika Leader) has almost stopped prospecting for the last week. Vigorous efforts will be made by all the leaseholders to test the various reefs and bring some stone to grass tor a trial crushing as

soon as the weather settle?. There seems to be a tacic understanding between buyers and sellers to suspend transactions until the prospect, ing becomes more definite, although several small parcels of William Tells have changed hands at greatly reduced priesc s during the week. Misleiding quotations do uo good, ani your correspondent is determined that your readers shall have the most accurate information oi that point. A small parcel of fiwis* Republics was s >ld last Friday at 12«. per share. This claim is silently forging ahead ia public estimation, as are also the Just-in-Titus, Totara, aud All Nations. But for the reason already slated there are few transactions, as holders ara firm and investors are awaiting development. It is stated that prior to Mr. Stout' 3 departure f r the South yesterday it was understood that Messrs. Montgomery, Macandrew and Bullancc had consented. to accept portfolios. Mr. Stoat returns to Wellington on Friday. The child Mannings, suffering from modified smallpox at the Invercargill Hospital, is doing remarkably well. The LytteUon Times of Monday has the following : — The founda-tion-stone of the new Catholic Convent School, Ashburtoi, was laid yesterday, the ceremony being performed by fc'athec Sauzeau, as administrator for the Bishop. The ceremony took place at I o'clock, at which hour a processiou oE acolytes, nuns, and school children took place round the Convent grounds. After a short service, conducted by Father Sauzeau. that divine and Father Coffey, ths parish priest, both addressed the largo assemblage of people present, dwelling chiefly on the subject of education, and pointing out that education unaccompanied by religious training was net educatioa, but only instruction. After the addresses, Father Sauzeau laid the stone, using for tbe purpose a silver trowel, presented to him by Mr. A. C. Malcolm, the contractor for the building. The trowel was manufactured, by Mr. Quinn, watch-maker, Asbburton, and wa3 a very handsome implement. After the ceremony, which was rendered the more interesting by the singing of the schoolgirls and the Sisters, subscriptions in aid of the building fund were taken, and some £60 was raised in about a quarter of an hour. This sum wa3 expected to reach £100 before vespers. The building, it is hoped, will be fife for use by the end of October. The amount of the present contract is £1200, but to complete the school another contract of perhaps £800 or '£1000 will be necessary. Father Sauzeau also cebebrated tho eleveno 'clock Mas-s. and his sermon was chiefly direc ed to th.a subject of education from the Catholic point of view. The Mayor of Wellington is improving in health. A rumour was current in Port Chalmers yesterday (says the Daily Times) that a child of a man named Joces, residing between Mausford Bay and Rocky Point, was suffering from smallpox, and it was stated she had contracted it from Mr. Douglas Haaning's little L>girl, who is at present in the Invercirgill Hospital, safferia? from that disease. Our representative a* Port Chalmers has interviewed Dr. De Lautour, the medical attendant of Mr. Jones' family, on the matter, and that gentleman states that the child has feverish symptoms at present, but that the nature of her ailment has not yet declared itself. The doctor, however, is oE opinion, so far as he. his seen, that the child is not suffering from smallpox ; bat until the symptoms arc further developed it will be impossible for the doctor to definitely state the nature of the case. Four gentlemen started from Kumava on Sunday raorairg with a double buggy and pair to go to Maori Creek to conduct a Presbyterian service there. Owing it is said, to the brake not acting, tb« trap weat down the Zigzag at a great speed, the buggy c-tpsiz-xi, and the* horses bolted off with the pole ana wheels, leaving the body of the busfjry. The occupants were overturned. The Rsv. Mr. Hay sustained a scalp wound ; Mr. James Woods, baker, had the boae of his right forearm broken ; but Messrs. Campbell and Nicholson escaped unhurt. Tbu Ross Advocate says the majority • f tbe shareholders iv the *c mines (Cedar Creek) arc poor men, who, seduced by the offer of a few pounds are tempted to dispose of their interest. We earnestly warn these men not to be in too great a hurry, for in a short tim'j, and a very short time, a crushing will take place, whet shares thnt are now being fold at a mere nominal sums of £36 or £40, will fetch as many hundreds. There is no doubt of this, as we have seen the rise, decline, and fall of several quartz spurts, and there is no doubt that the crushing (which will astonis'i a good many) will bring an inllux of capital iuto the district, making it what it surely is, and will be the premier field of New Zealand. The Northern gauidiggers are organising an agitation regarJiog the gum leases question. ioung Waymoutb, who fell over the cliffs at George's Bay, bids fair to recover. The Paeroa correspondent of the Thames Stai' wires as follows : — The Sir Walter Scott crushing, now being put through the Hauraki battery, is shaping for a splendid return. Although the battery is running but one shift of 12 hours, the plates are yielding an average of 40ozs. hard squeezed hot water amalgam per shift. There are now about SOOozs. of hard squeezed amalgam on hand for 16 days' run. At the mine the stopes are yielding some very rich stone, showing more gold than anything of tbe kind hitherto obtained in the district — not excepting VTaitekauri iv its palmiest days. Cleaning up and retorting will take place in about 10 days' timu. nttd the result will undoubtedly be a big advertisement for Karan»ili ike. Mr. P. S. Garvey, says the Wellington Po,tt : for a long time past principal warder at Mount Cook Gaol, has been promoted to be gaoler there. Mr. Garvey has rcallv had charge of this gaol since he was transferred from Lyttullon to Welliustun, now some two ani a-half years ago, and has proved himself a most able and efficient officer. He baa had extensive experience in gaol management, both in Ireland and in this Colony, and we congratulate him on his well-deserved promotion. There are now about 70 of the wor3t criminals in the Colony confined at Mount Cook. The Grey month Argus says: The remains of the late Mr. Edward Butler were followed to the grave yesterday, 6th inst., by such an imposing crowd of mourners as is seldom seen anywhere, and such as has never been scen-in Greymouth. " Mourners came from Kcefton

and the intermediate places, from north and south, to attend the funeral ; and many more would have helped to swell the cortege had vehicles offered to convey them. A number of miners, friends of deceased, walked distances of ten aud twenty miles, through being unable to find conveyances. The Mayor (P. C. Dupre), Mr. A. R. Guinness, Mr. Clifford, and Mr. Griffin acted as pall-bearers. Then came the hearsp, which was followed by over 400 on foot. Tr-e&e were followed by nine loaded vehicles, and bringing np the rear were 25 horsemen, making over 500 altogether. Tbe directors of the William Tell (prospectors) quartz Gold Mining Company, Cedar Creek, fetched to Ron, on the 6th inst., several parcels of quartz, obtained 25 feet along the line of reef from the point where the first gold was got, showing half-penny-weight pieces of gold sticking out. There is great excitement over it this morning. The stamper battery will befinished in. three weeks, when a trial crushing will be made. A public meeting was held in accordance with an influentially signed requisition to tbe Mayor to consider the best steps for connecting the borougn of Ross with the reefs at Cedar Creek, by the construction of a road. The meeting was largely attended, aud resolutions were unanimously carried, amid much enthns ; asm, giving effect to the foregoing. They were ordered to be telegraphed to the member for the district, requesting him to lay the matter before the Government and to obtain a special grant for the immediate prosecution of the essential work. All the ground available on the saddle immediately above the reef ha? been taken up by miners as residence sections, and several restaurants and stores are being built. A batch of Egyptians from Port Said were landed at Adelaide from the steamer Ocean. They are unable to speak English, and are qnite destitute. A case of smallpox has appeared in the heart of Melbourne — in Flinders lane west, near Queen street. Many persons are getting re« vaccinated. Tne disease has appeared at a border town of South Australia. A deputation of unemployed has waited on the Victorian Government requesting to be provided with work. Several valuable discoveries of minerals, chiefly silver ore, have been made in tbe vicinity of Belbana. South Australia. The town of Kelung, in Formosa, was bombarded by the French fleet for one hour, when tbe Chinese withdrew. A. French, force was landed, and has occupied the town, Admiral Goorbet, with a portion of his fleet, is still at Foochow. Pour French ironclads are now before VVoo-Song, a port near Shaughai. The French suffered no loss during the bombaidaient and occupation of Kelung. The loss of the Chinese is not kuown. Farnce threatens to saize Amoy unless the indemnity is paid. A demonstration in support of tbe action of the Hoase of Lords in rejecting the Frarchise Bill took place on Saturday night at Manchester. The meeting, which was a densely crowded one, was addressed by the Marquis of Salisbury and Lord Randolph Churchill, Resolutions -were passed in favour of continued opposition to the Heform Bill. Active preparations are now being made at Cairo for the expedi« tioa to the Soudan by way of the Nile valley. A combined force of 4000 British and Egyptian troops will be employed. Information comes to hand from Pretoria that the Volksraad has ratified a cenrantion which was concluded in February last between the Transvaal delegates and the British Government.