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Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 15, 14 May 1877, Page 2

It is expected that the Just.in-Time Company will conclude the present crushing dm> ing the current week. The County Council will sit on Wednesday next, when an estimate of the current yoar's County expenditure will be arrived at. The total sum pnid ia dividends up to the present time by three Companies at Boatman's—the Hopeful, JusWn-lime, and Fiery Cross-is £37,500. We understand that instructions hare been given to the Acting Inspector of Nuisances to caution teamsters against camping near the Suspension Bridge, Boefton. The sittings of the District Court, Beofton, before his Bonor Judge Weston, will commence at 10 o'clock to-morrow morning. His Honor arrived by Saturday evening's coach. We are informed that the business before the Court is comparatively light, and will consist chiefly of applications under the Mining Companies and Debtors and Creditors Acts. The heavy and continuous rain of Saturday night and yesterday brought down a tolerably heavy fresh in the Inangahua at nightfall last evening. The crates recently put in along the river bank being well anchored with stone suffered little damage, but the centre crate of the Suspension Bridge betrayed signs of heel* ing over to the pressure of the water. Should the bridge, suffer no further damage during the night immediate steps should bd taken to repair the injury done. The County Council is beginning to understand the charges made upoa its funds by tho General Government. It is only the other day that intimation was given aa to its responsibility for costs and charges incurred in relation to destitute persons. The Council has since been apprised that the County fund will have to bear the coat of medical attendance upon members of tho local police force. The amount in itself will probably not be large, about £50 per annum, but these numerous debits will no doubt tot up to a good round sum annually, and the item should not be lost sight of in preparing the curront year's estimated expenditure. The list of claims to vote, and objections thereto, for the year current, is published in the Grey River Argus, and is, perhaps, one of the most bulky advertisements of the kind ever published on tho West Coast. Why the Registration Officer seleetod a newspaper published sixty miles from the Inangahua, to advertise the list of claims and objecx tions to vote emanating for this district, it it is not easy to understand. Ii the object sought in advertising these annual lists is to socurco for them widest possible local publicity, then W3 wholly fail to see why a distant paper should havo been selected as tho medium. As it is, probably not one in a hundred of those in this district whose names have been objected to will be made aware of the fact, and consequently will be debarred from supporting their applications. This involves a serious haidship, and it is to bo hoped that in future when the question of publicity as between local and distant papers is considered the Registration Officer will " render unio Cre3ar the things that are his." The passengers by Saturday's upward coach met with a rather unexpected advens ture. On the coach nearing the Grey Junction, it was discovered that tho two-storied building known aa M'lnroe's Hotel, wad on fire, a great part of the roof being in flames. The coach, on arriving at the spot, was pulled up, and the passengers, amongst whom were Judge Weston, Rev. Mr Rutherford, Mr W. Williams, and Mr C. Cohen, at once jumped off, and a supply of buckets being at hand, this small volunteer brigade after half an hours hard and exciting work managed to get the fire under, and so saved the building. The assistance did not arrive one moment too soon, as the fire had already got a strong hold of the building, and a very few minutes p»o*e and it would have been beyond redemption. We are informed by one of the passengers, that Judge Weston, and the Rev. Mr Rutherford, each rendered most efficient as» sistance with the others, in carrying buckets of water from the river to the burning buildin*. The house is, we believe, the property of Mr James M'Laughlin, of Ahaura, and has been untenated for some time, and the fire is supposed to hate originated through the carelessness of some swagsmen, who had taken shelter in the building on the night previous. The Count De La Pasture has sold his Glynn Wya station and stock- to Mr W. A Low, of tho Clarence Btation, for £26,000, on satisfactory terms. The property consists of 8538 acres freehold, 528,933 acres leasehold, and 23,249 acres license-hold, with 18,000 sheep, some cattle, and horses, and the usual plant and station stores given in. We have received a copy of tho Cooktown Courier of tho 17th ultimo, but it docs not contain a»y very startling items of intelligence —A crushing of 27 tons of stone from the Band of Hope claim, Hodgkinson, is recorded, the yield being at the rate of twenty-six and a half ounces to the ton.— The Chinese rpsidents having hoard of Sir Arthur Kennedy (the new Governor of Queensland) from their friends in Hong Kong as a " welly good man," were preparing to present a grand addross to

welcome the now comer, and intended letting off ono million and a-half of crackers. — The Municipal Council, judging by a report of their proceeedings, is anything but a happy family. During the hearing of a case recently tried at Tamworlh, Queensland, before hia Honor Judge Meymott, tho following is reported by the Tamworth Observer to have occurred:- --« Witnoss, disregarding the holy book, leaned over to tho judge and whispered—' Robert Alexander — -, your honor, legally qualified medical practitioner. 1 The Judge: 'Have yon ever taken an oath before?' Doctor: 'Oh, that's all right j never mind.' The Judge : * What do you moan ? It's not all ri»ht.' Doctor: ' You see, I'm a barrister myaelf aa well aa you ; it «U right.' The judge: 'You're drunk, sir. 1 Doctor: «Im not; I'm not. drunk.' Tho judge: 'We'll take this man's evidence, and then commit him. 1 Crown Prosecutor: 'I think, your honor, It would be an insult to tho Court to take his evidence,' Doctor: 'Go on, old boy; barrister myself, you know; it's nil right.' Judge ; 4 How dare you address me as an old boy?' Doctor: 'No offence, old! boy; familiar term, you know; |kuow you privately. 1 Judge; 'Lock this man up for 24 hours." 1 Tho World remarks as follows with reference to tho late famous elopement in high life ._« £98,000, the worth of the diamond necklace which played so prominent a part in tho French Revolution ! Now»a-days £90,000 is in the market, and may figure in the Divorce Court. Verily in the market ; for the woman has left husband and children tor tho company of an • honorable ' protector, with that sum settled on hersolf, may try other society when her present rapid life tires and satiates. £90,000 is a largo sum enough to tempt tho virtue of men ; enough, we trust, to induce the injured husband to dare publicity, and secure some portion of the mother's dower for her deserted children. Would it not be well, now that divorce cases are so fashionably common, for a clause to bo inserted in marriage settlements regarding the disposal of money when the runaway episode takes place ? Certainly a new method is required to check tho epidemic which pervades some portion of the habits and customs of oui 1 upper ten." The Melbourne Spiritualists apparently re» pudiate tho Davenport Brothors, who once lighted up the spiritual heavens. We rather think, however, that tho Davenports first ropudiated them. Tho Harbinger of Light 9a y S :— According to last accounts tho Davenport Brothers were in New Zealand exhibiting their phenomena. They dp not say they are Spiritualists (which for tha cauis of Spiritualism is well) ; neither do they affirm that the phenomena witnessed in their cabinets are produced by spirits. And yet for some reason of other they aro krgely patronised by Spiritualists. When in Melbourne they charged £20 for a private seance, and what, with otiior thing*, was to their discredit, they had a« a travelling companion Mr Kellar, a notod conjuror and allusionint. This ono of the Davenports admitted to ono of the most influential Spiritualists of Melbourne. And this Mr Kellar (now in our calony) asserts in public that ho had travelled with tho Davenports moro or less for eight, years. It is tho opinion of Spiritualists generally that tho Davonports havo inooliumistic gifts, but they havo so prostrated them to mercenary ends and low occulfc influences that they aro utterly irreliablo. It is reported that Hindo jugglers could oxcol thorn in ropo tying* This much is certain, thoy did no good to Spiritualism in Calcutta or Melbourne. Tho "yarns" now circulating (say 9an exchange) about 'what happened to so and so, through the sudden rise in Moanatairi shares are startling ond plentiful. It is* said, for instance, that an Auckland man who owned a goodly lot of them instructed his solicitor to file a declaration of bankruptcy, and went " into tho country" to escape tho malediction of creditors. He returned after a few weeks' absence, was taken by the hand, and congratulated by all his acquaintances, and his creditors offered to lend him more. His shares were gone up from 13s. to £21 10s. A man who was clearing out to Sydney said to j his landlady, " Well, I owe you for two months' board; take thoso ten Moanatiri's and cry quits," and B he took them, becauso there was nothing else to get, but on the distinct assurance that there was to bo no moro calls. She got £15 from tho I first dividend, will probably gat £W more within a fortnight, and tho shares are worth £202. The Dunedin correspondent of tto liyttelton Times tells &« following story:—! resppotablo young man some months ago bought a pair of unmentionables from a tailor, the tailor immediately after boci me insolvent, and his estate was placed in the hands of a wholesale firm in Dunedin. Tho firm sent the customer, an account for the article supplied ; the bill was promptly paid, and to the firm's collector. Judge of tho young man's surprise when, on coming to the office ono morning, he, on opening a letter addressed to him in the senior partner's handwriting, JfounoT it to contain a memorandum from Messrs— the liquidating firm, to the following effect:— -"Mr Senior Partner,— Mr. Blank, in tho employ of your firtr, owes tho enclosed tailor's account. Will you kindly see that it is paid." Tho young man so treated was naturally irate. He had paid his bill, and immediately showed his employer the receipt in proof of his assertion. But even presuming a case in which payment had not been made, tho sending of a trumpery account to an em« j ployer is a practice that cannot be too strongly reprehended, and in this caes the victim of 4he practice was manly enough to administer some stern treatment. Ho domandod that a written apology be at once forwardod to his employers. This was declined, whereupon he punched the hjsad and wrung the nose of tho person who gave the refusal. The police were sent fov, but, as the matter did not take place within their range of vision, no avrcat could be made. Tho head of tho liquidating firm, the person who ordered

tho letter to be sent, he met in the street, and publicly squirted tobacco juice into his teeth. A lawyer, whom he accused of putting the firm up to tho course adopted, ho met in the bar of an hotel, publicly charged him with having given such advice, and then gave him a quid of tobacco juice between the eyes. The compliment was calmly taken ; a receipt paid on the 9th of the month for money claimed through the employer on the 24th, together with liquidating firm's letter to his employer has also been shown round Dunedin. So far, tho person so dealt with has been unsuccessful in getting the parties he has publicly insulted to take him to Court, but at tho pro i sent rate a crisis will soon bo reached. Tho final report of last years upon recruiting is most satisfactory. Owing to the waufc of employment to the increase of pay, and to tho growing liking for the short-service enlistment, no less than 21,000 recruits offered themselves last year, and while the cavalry is above its proper strength, and the infantry within a few hundreds of its full number, it has actually been found necessary to raise the standard fixed for gunners in the Artillery. The army is in fact complete, and tho recruiting officers say tho rejections on account of deficient physique are unusually few, a better class of men having come forward, lbe number of desertions remains unfortunatoly as great as ever, desertion having become a profitable trade, and the expediency of tatooing a small mark on every man who onters the Queen's service has again been publicly discussed. The practice had better bo avoided, not because it is unfair or cruel, but becauso it tenda to create tho prejudice that soldiership differs from any other honourable business, which has always injured the status of the army. The returns show that Lord Cardwell was in all important respects right in his estimate of the attractiveaes3 of short service, and there is one important incident in the matter which should not be overlooked. Within twenty years there will be an average of half a million men in the British Isles, all under fortytwo, who have been thoroughly drilled as regular soldiers, v defence against invasion of which it is difficult to overestimate the valao.