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Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 7, 25 April 1877, Page 2

Mr John Butler has been elected to the position of a director of the Hopeful Oompany in the room of Mr M.. Peegan, who, has resigned. Mails per Tararaa, for the Australian, Colonies via Melbourne, will close at Hokitika to-day, at 5, o'clock p.m. Telegrams for transmission to Victoria wiE be received at the local offise up to 4 p.m. to-day. Since the close of the last Znkerman crushing Messrs Graham and Alleu have had their battery employed upon surface stone from the old Rainy Creek Company's leaae, but no intimation of the probable result of the crushing has jet reached us, j. It ia notified by advertisement that the I electoral rolls for the different Sidings of the County are now open for inspection at the places named. It will be the duty of all ratepayers to satisfy themselves by examination that their names and qualifications have been accurately set forth. Intimation was received in Beefton yester*» day by Mr Pv Twohill of the deat 1 *, by accident, in the Province of Hawke's Bay,, of , Morgan Bui k. Deceased was a brother of Mr Burk, formerly of Granville, Half-Ounce, to whom it ia desired intelligence of the death should be conveyed}. " Intending, contractor" writes to ns inquiring when, tenders for the maintenance of the County roads will be called. He states that the last contracts expired on the 31 st March, and that the *•* County will lose money by leaving the roads uncared for." Having publishsd the gist of our correspondent's letter, we refer him to, the authorities for further information,. Although moat of the County Councils, of .the Colony have already brought by-laws yito force, it does not appear that any move has been, made in, that direction by our own Counpil. It is ta be hoped that the matter will be delayed no longer, as the nuisance, of [ vagrant cattle, is becoming of general comcomplaint. In our last issue we h,ad to complain of the nuisance caused by the camping of teamsters on, the Strand, and now we hear of one decorous old lady who waa returning to her home the other night when she stumbled over a cow which was. lying in the middle of one. of the streets. It was very , dark at the time, and the fright she experi*. • eneed may well be imagined. Fortunately, however, the animal was very tame, otherwise, injury might have been done, and the Road Board beort laid open tp an action for damages. It ia to. be hoped that the Road Board when instructing the County Engineer to prepare estimates for the formation of ¥pper Broadway and Bridge«street will also, take into consideration the condition of Smithstreet, and likewise direct that an estimate be prepared for improving the condition, of that thoroughfare. Smith-street is the main outlet for all traffic from Broadway to the Buller-road, and it is certainly quite as neces*. saiy that it should be made passable as any otberstreetinthe town. Residents on the Buller-road are cupelled to pass by way of Smith-street,, and in winter time it has hiterto been a perfect infliotion to pass that way after dark. We trust, therefore, that the Board when dealing with the expenditure upon Upper. Broadway and Bridge«street wUI bear in mind the urgency of the work alluded to and make provision for it before the wet weather seta in. The Mayor of Queenstown, Otago, appears to think the next meeting for Colonial priae firing will be held there. A correspondent informs the Hokitika Star that since the water oame on the Kumara goldfield a considerable, amount of gold has been obtained from the paddooks. Business } people have benefitted to a marked extent, one ' person who bas. only a small busipess. having taken more mpnoy during thp past two weeks than, in two months previpusly. A better financial atmosphere is experienced, and no complaints from the miners as, tq tbe yields obtained are heard.

The Union Bank, Melbourne, is erecting « premises in Melbourne that will cost between orty and fifty thousand pounds. The Roman Catholics of Wellington, to the number of 150, recently formed a working bee, andin a few hours Reared their cemetery of weeds. The Grey River Argus says:-To ensure the earliest publication of London messages in view of the war in the East, Government have acceded to the request of the Press Agency to open the telegraph offices through*, out the colony at 9.30 each night. This ar- | arrangement has been commenced. ( At a recent sale of land in various parts of Wellington province, excellent pricea were obtained for country properties and for improved town acres. Two of the latter were sold for £950 each, and an acre in the township of Masterton, in the Wairarapa, brought £830, although the improvements were of a very mild character. I In round numbers the Victorian Racing ; Club, last meeting payed away £7363. to the » various winners, seconds, and thirds. A nice little sum, and, as it is pretty evenly divided, it will do. a great deal of good to the man j recipient stablea, It is a sum far exceeding that paid by any other club in the colonies ; yet it is not nearly equal to that which the V.R.C. pays over at the spring meeting. The Ross Flat Goldmining Company, now being floated, has a nominal oapital of £35,000 in 700 shares of 500 each. The ground at » Jones's Flat comprises forty acres of leasehold secured from the General Government for fifteen years at a rental of £5 per acre per annum. A portion of the ground was, worked some years back by the Cassius, Morning Star, and Scandinavian Companies. The Wellington Evening Poat says t— The price given by Messrs W. and G. Turnbull and Co., on behalf of the Brunner Coal Company, West Coast, for the Government p.s. Luna, was £4000, Her new owners intend to. test her power in her present condition before making any alterations in her. Arrangements have alsobeen made with Mr O'Malley for using one of the reoentiy reclaimed areas as a coal depot. The Charleston Herald says :— Mr Hickey, who is well-known as a follower of the great Isaac Walton, made a tremendous onslaught on the grayling, up the left branch of the Nile river, on Thursday last, he having landed with liis rod and line no less than two hundred and seven of these delicious fish. Grayling are at present literally swarming in the river, and good sport awaits those who with rod and line choose to spend a day or two in angling. Residents at Brighton, becoming alarmed at the impending closing up of ths Brighton telegraph and postal establishments, are preparing a petition to the authorities, praying that the offioes be kept open, as heretofore. Ihe petitioners give cogent reasons for the continuance of the offices at that place, but the official returr-s of revenue received will be best authority in deciding the need for the offices remaining open. The WaitarapaNews states, that Mr John Morrison, of Wharema, has completed the sale of his property to Mr L. Elder, wool broker, London. Tbye purchase price is stated to.be £36,000, or, together with the stock on, the run, about £40,000, The property consists of 17,500 aores freehold, comprising some of the very finest fiats in the Coast district. The number of sheep on the run is 13,000* these are to bs taken over by the purchaser. The quiet cattle are, we believe*, to be retained by the seller. The property was purchased some years ago for the. sum of £9000, a great many improvements having since been made upon the lands. A meeting of the Charleston County Separation Committee was held afe King's European Hotel, Charleston, on Thursday evening last. The Suh-committee.brought up a petition to his Excellency the Governor, whioh was read and adopted. Measures, were taken to obtain the signatures of the electors, and hi. the course of a few days the petition will be' taken round for affixing the autographs of the "free and independent" When they are obtained the petition will be published and forwarded to his Excellency, in accord* ance with instructions laid down in the Counties Act, 1,676, Yesterday (saya the Auckland Herald of the 4th instant) the old soldiers and sailors residing in this province were paid what they are entitled to as quarterly pensions for services to their Queen and conntry. Each quarter»day is a day of enjoyment with them for many reasons! they receive a sum of money, with whicii each man has no donbt plenty to do, and they have an opportunity of renewing old acquaintances-* fighting their battles o'er again, recalling incidents of the bivouac and the march, and remembering companions who have passed away. There is one melancholy circumstance, however, conneoted with these meetings, namely, that each quarter-day gradually lessens the number of pensioners. At yesterday's gathering were assembled some of the veterans of the Crimea, with others who have fought in the East and West Indies and other place, whilst not a few had played an important part in many native wars in the North Island, In looking at them the observer could not help, feeling sympathy for the men who had so long and faithfully served their Queen and county. The following is from the. Wellington Argus : — The'new Civil Service, regulation regarding the hours of attendance duly came into force this morning, all the offipiala hay* ing on Saturday morning, been, warned that they would not in future be permitted to leave the building between the hours of 9,30 a.m. and 4.30 p.m., or to smoke within the sacred precincts. The abolition of tbe usual half-hour for luncheon waa to*day productive of suoh an enormous importation of provisions into the building that it is understood tha all the rata in the town will probably soon

congregate there to feast upon the cnfmbs* Fortunately the weather permitted the wearing of great coats, and the capacious pockets Ulsters were taken advantage to introduce all varieties of edibles and drinkables, ranging from cucumbers to bottled beer. As no regulation aa yet exists against officers in the Civil Service having their luncheons sent to their, we believe that from twelve ta two the passages were fragrant with the scent of all kinds of savoury viands, sent down by careful wives in all sorts of domestic vessels, and by a multitudinous army of small boys and girls, who individually seemed lost in the intricacies of the new Government Buildings. One small girl, we learn, plumped down a savoury mesa of tripe and onions under the nose oi a Minister of the Crown, under the impression that he was Mr Jones of the Treasury, having, of course, been wrongly directed aa to the room ; and it is further reported that the Minister's appetite, appealed to through his olfactory organs, got the better of his dignity, and while poor Jones went luncheonless, and no doubt kicked up a row when he got home, the Minister in question found it unnecessary to lunch, as usual, at the Club. The smell of tobacco was also particularly strong in the neighborhood of the Audit Department, but probably this arose from a vagary of imagination. Talking of candidates (writes the Melbourne correspondent ot tbe Otago Daily Times) I may mention one rather curious specimen of the class. Pr Macartney— now a teetotal lecturer and now a candidate for Parliament — was once a clergyman of' the Church of England, but left that position on the gronnd that it did not afford scope for the movement of large intellects. So he studied for the bar, became a barrister*at»law, and ultimately a member of Parliament. When in that capacity he did not hold, or at any rate did not practice, the opinions regarding the duty of total abstinence which he has formed since. Neither is he believed to have shown any tendency in thin direction during tbe time of his stay in Fiji, where he is un* derstood to have had a chequered career. It waß rather a surprise and a cruel cut to his old, friends when they found out, on his return, that he had become a burning and shining light of temperance doctrines, and did battle with the. demon drink on teetotal platforms aa a means of living. The other day he was announced to lecture at the Temperance Hall, but in the afternoon the evening paper came out with a report of an application made to tho Supreme Court* by the wife of Dr Macartney to be permitted to file a petition of divorce against him for drunkenness, ill-usage, and unfaithfulness. He met his audience in the evening, but did not pro* ceed witb his lecture. In lieu of that, be read to them a letter, in which he declared that he was the injured party— not the culprit, bu,l the victim — and that a bosom friend of his, whom he had introduced and recommended to a constituency, and who had been, and was now, seeking to be a member of Parliament, had betrayed his confidence, ppisoned his domestic, happiness, aai done other very wrong tilings. To. those who take Mr Macartney's version it becomes manifest that queer people find their way into Parliaipen,t, and those, who* disbelieve him altogether msy nevertheless agree in the same conclusion.