THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 1877.

Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 1, 11 April 1877, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 1877.

We have been requested to correct two very serious misstatements which were made by the Inangahua Herald yesterterday in relation ths yields of the Golden Fleece and Inkevraaa Companies respectively In the case of the lnkerman Company the yield was given as JQQom of $m\gm from 780 tons of stone, whereas the correct return. is.lSSo^s 2dwts of melted gold. \ In the case of the Gold Fleece Company tbe yield of gold Vaa given as 15050Z9, whereas the exact return is 10430z8 melted gold. The Hopeful Company, Boatman*, are still crushing, and the atone fully maintains its excellent appearance. In another column we publish the judgments recently delivered at Hokitika by his Honor Judge Weston iq seven) Beefton | cases, j Mr Butler, County Engineer, returned from the LyeU on Monday last. There will be a meeting of the County Council to-day, at 1 p.m., when If p Butler's report will probably be read. ' There was a short sitting of the ResHent Hagiitrats's Court on Monday last. Tho caw oi Taylor and Campbell y. M'Guiga" «»" J further adjourned until Monday next, owing | to the absence of ouugel. ' | Last week's cleaning up by the Wealth of Nations Company gave 268 az* l^dffts of amalgam. The batteries were idlp for two days during the week, pending ceitain repairs. A meeting is convened for to-night, at Duwion's Hotel, to take tho necessary steps to arrange an amateur entertainment in aid of the unfortunate man Qeorge toques, who was bereft of eight some time ngo by an accident in one of our mines. It is the intention of the promoters to invite the dfflfeMnt friendly societies to attend tho entertainment in «•« gulii». One oharacterwtic of the movement is that all services rendered to it will bo gratuitous—even unto the printing and advertising, which we hi»ve undertaken to execute l freo of chirge.

The Golden Fleece Company has just deposited with the Bank of New Zealand another Splendid cake of retorted gold, weighing 10430za, the result of the last month's crushing. The return just obtained by the Golden Fleece has enabled the Company to declare a dividend of Is6d per share (48,000 th), equal to £3609, anfecaiagr forwaed a d^eat surplus. /; ( < ~ In referenoe to the applicati^&r thetancellatiou of the leaie, &o» vernment have ddefifcd t<T inapdw* po^Hty of £50 in lieu of fo^ture. The penalty is", we believe, the highest erer imposed in this district. The newly elected Hospital Committee met at Mr M'Lean'f office on Monday evening lats, but the only business transacted was tho appointment of a sub-committee consisting of ! Messrs Bayfeild, Aiken, and Wise, to consider the tender* sent iis for supplies. The Committee will meet again this evening. The Inkeitnatj Company cleaned up on Saturday hnt, the return being 1650zs 2dvta melted gold. Tho return does not come up to expectation, for, from tho appearance of the stpne as it passed to the mill, a somewhat larger yield was anticipated. It must, however, ba understood that this was the Come pony's first crushing, and consequently a fair allowance must be made on that account Another wcuiistaiioe requires also to be taken into account — the stone was broken down and sent to the mill by contact, thus [ rendering it more than probable that a large p?r(?at:tnge of the material crushed consisted of mullock and other debris which had no right to be trucked* nnd which, bad the mine been worked by wage* hands, would have been cast aside, That it was a great mf stak« to commit the getting «ut of the stone to contractors was pointed out from the first, and it is the opinion of all who hare visited the mine that such was really the case. It is satisfactory,, however, to find that notwith-. standing the comparative poorness of the yield, the Company is in a thoroughly solvent condition, the whole of its outstanding liabilities being fully covered by calls already made , so that operations may be resumed at once without obstacle. Confidence in the future of the mine by those who have inspected it has not been in any way shaken by the result of the recent crushing ; on tbe contrary belief is firm in the soundness ©f the venture, and there is erery reason to believe that after a little preparatory prospecting, and when the mine is fully opened up, thoroughly payable atone will be obtained. Moved by a feeling of curiosity at the strange and mysterious ceremonies recently indulged in at the Reef ton Cemetery by the Chinese brer the grave of a departed countryman, our reporter interrogated one of the men, and from him learned that it is the saperstitition of the Chinese that at the expiration of " one moon " after burial the Spirit iff released from the body and enters upon its transition to a supernatural sphere. The " devil himself" is believed to appear upon the scene in the " nick " of time, and to enter into conflict with the spirit in order to gain dominion over it. Now in order to upset the Satanic programme and decoy the devil away a number of savory meats are spread around for the " "Id gentleman." TJpon being asked whether there were any duly authenticated cases 6f the spirits having escaped the vigilance of Satan, the Chinaman said that the allurement was never known to fail. It was only some Chinamen who could seethe devil, the power was not given to all. He had himaelf seen a devil on two occasions. Once in a gully on the south side of the Irian* gabua river, near Reofton. A mate of his was killed by a falling tree some years ago, and the body was placed on a table. He had a presentiment that the devil was hanging about the premises, so he went round to the back of the hut and looking through an aperture in the wall there he saw the monster capering about the body. The devil had four legs a tail, and very long hair hanging from the eye* brows, and upon a noise being made it disapa peared under the hut. Our reporter ridiculed the whole matter, but the Chinaman was thoroughly in earnest, and became quite indignant at the subject being treated wiih tbe smallest levity. The supsrstition runs that only persons with very short eyebrows have the power of seeing the noxious visitor, and as our reporter has consented to clip his eyebrows for the occasion the Chinaman has promised to tike him to have a " look see" on his own account, knowing the spot where a devil is to be seen regularly at the full of the moon. We have not in the least misrepre* sented or exaggerated the singular superstition. |