The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. MONDAY, SEPT. 17, 1877.

Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 69, 17 September 1877, Page 2

The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. MONDAY, SEPT. 17, 1877.

The down G-reymouth coach left on Friday morning last, but was unable to proceed beyondSquaifefcown, owing to the flooded state of the Little Grey. Tho coach f hereforo re--1 turned lo Eeefton, but in the meantime tho liiangabua river had swollon greatly, and. the j ibrd was unworkable. The coach was there- J foro left on tho southern Bide, and the driver having removed the harness' from the horses, started to cross tho stream, but when in midstream three of the horses were carried off the ford, and were washed some distance down, eventally landing on tho shingle beach. The passengers crossed the river at the Chinamen's Perry, but the proprietor came very nearlosing the number of his mess. He jumped into the boat with only o»e oar, and the Chinaman who wa9 holding the painter foolishly permitted the rope to slip from his hold. Tho boat, with its occupant wan at on co swept down the stream, bat Charley, by the display of great presence of mind, ranfcho boat on to the tongue of the shingle' beach, and so- saved his life- and his bacon. Ultimately the boat was pulled to the main land, and uDder better management the pas.< singers crossed in safety. The coaoh left on' , the down trip yesterday morning. The up coach reached here at 4 p.m. The Wastport coach is detained on the road, but will probably reach hero in the oourso of to«day. The quantity of amalgam collected at the Wealth of Nations battery for the week ending Saturday last, was 23& ozs. It is announced by Mr Or. McWilliams, that a reduction has been made in the coach faro hitherto charged to and from Eeefton to Boatman's, Henoefo.th the charge will be, single fares, each way, 6a 6d ; return 10s. This reduction will no doubt be appreciated by the travelling public. The coach has already been found a great convenience to persons resident at each place, and we are glad to learn that the support accorded iB sufficiently encouraging to secure the permanency of tho staga. Messrs McLean and Co., on Saturday last, submitted to public auction, the handsome and valu&blo private residences in the occupa* tion of Dr Martin, and formerly tho property of Dr Bulmer. Tho lot fell to the bid of Dr Martin for the comparatively inconsiderable sum of £640. It is elsewhere annouricod that a moeting of tho shareholders of the A. 1- Loase, Boat man's, will be held at tho office of Mr A. D. Bayfoild, on Saturday nest. The raeeiiog is for the purpose of considering tho advisability of commencing work, aud registering the oom« pany under the provisions of " The Mining Companies Act, 1872." Wo are informed by Mr Gardiner, ihe contractor for the erec ioi of the suspension bridge across the Inangahua, that the river is rapidly encroaching upon the southern bauk, and that during the short time tho contract has been in his hands nearly 11 feet of the bank has been washed away. At this rate of progress, the river will not.be long in reaching the southern support of tha bridge. It h said that much of the danger could be averted by the erection of a groin or wing daik to shunt the current from the bank, We think tho matter is ono which ought to, receive the earliest attention of the authoris ties. There is a great dearth of miniDg news at the present time, and the share market has been very languid foe son>o -time past, It is noticeable, however, that a large namber of j new mining ventures are being launched, and tins' of itself may be taken as a good indication of the extoneion of operations. Within thejpast month or six weeks a largo batch of applications for mining leases have been lodged, and claim holders have cause to bo | on the alert against applications for cancellation. Tho cancellation of the United Band of Hope lease bas been applied for, At the sitting of the Resident Magistrate's Court, held on Friday last, Harry Smith w*s formally committed to take his trial at the Suprnme Court tfelson. An application will, wo are informed, bo made to the Crown for a special sitting of the Supreme Court at Reef* ton, in order that the trial may take plage here. Whether there is any possibility of the request being acceded to it is difficult to say, but there can be no question that such a course would materially convenience tho large nnmber of witnesses in the ease. The following appears as an advertisement in the Dunedin Guardian : -r-." The Young Man who recently arrived in Wellington from the Mother Country, and who now holds a somewhat prominent position in that city, is exceedingly desirous of returning his most sincero and gratofal thanks to the M.LLE. who lately so kindly relieved him of a little expendive domestic encumbrance and also for returning the valueless household articles, trinketi, and jewellery belonging to him, and trusts for the liberality thus displayed and °ther personal favors rendered (not altogether spontaneously), that, if not rewarded in this

world, he will meet with every due deßerfc in the next. The Victorian Government is offering fresh inducements to the police of the colony to con' tinue in their present service. Th» members of the Victorian Police Force have* received l notice from the Chief Commissioner that the Ghjvern.iiont havo made provision for increasing their pay on the Estimates lor the present financial year. The salaries for, first-class inspectors are to be raised from £275 to £300 per annum : that of socond-class inspectors from £250 to £275, and that of subrinspectors fi-om £235 to £255. Sergeants and constables of ten years' standing are to receive 6d per diom extra. The increase is to bo dated as. commencing the Ist of August. A number of experiments in tree-blasting were lately made near Melbourne with Nobel's patent dynamite, of which Messrs McLean Brothers aDd Rigg have recently imported a quantity. The cartridges only oxplodo by means of a detonating cap (iusertod when the charge is about to bo fired), or when heated to 420deg. Fahrenhiti^The first experiment failed somewhat through tho two charges placed under the tree no* oxploding at tho same time, the explosion nevertheless being shown by the complete destruction of one side of the tree. A tree 12ft in circumference was selected for tho second trial, about Sib of the dynamite (the charge costing 1b) baing inserted in two holes bored under the trunk. The result of the explosion was to lift the whole mass of the tree right out of the ground, scattering the roots «nd branches in all directions, and leaving a great kolo in the earth. The work of uprotting was very completely done, and the expenditure saved by tho application of a power of this kind in such cases may be calculated from the fact that tho mass raised was estimated to weigh twenty tons, and cutting down and grubbing was considered- to be a good day's work for two men. ihe third experiment was made with a still larger tree, under which 6£lb. of dynamite was inserted, and the thorough destruction that was wrought by this charge showed that a smaller quantity would have been sufficient for the success of the experiment. The dyminito is made up in cartridges of ten to lib., and by a little j experience in its use great precision can be arrived at in effecting the work desired to be done by a charge without any waste of powder. In the bush.covored districts of New Zealand, and especially to diggers, such a destructive agent should bo most valuable as a means of saving labor. Some able articles have lately appeared in our Auckland morning contemporary on the Russo-Turkiah war, by a writer who adopts the noja de plutre of" Austria." In one of these articles the following passage occurs : — The calling out of tha Russian Guard to take part in the war show* pretty clearly how hard the Russians are pressed* and that, it is absolutely necessary to have their ablest and best troops present — it may b« as an example to the rest of the army Every available man tbat Russia has will be required— not to complete the conquest she undertook, but to hold her own ami prevent disasters such as have occurred in Asia and ia Europe from being repeated o;i a much larger scale. TbdEmporor A lexander hos by this time more than oace regretted that he allowed himself to be persuuded to try and realise the dreams of his ambitious ancestor!*. The N. 2. Herald's special, telegraphing from Wellington, says :— Thera is another scandal,, which will, of course, briug up sund-y members to ask questions, and to move motions. The stovy is lhas told by the Post, and has reference lo l!je Waka Maori libel case, now being tried at (be instance of the Uoa. 11. Russell against the Government Printer. Mr J. N. Wilsoo, solicitor, of Napier, was being esamindd, and Mr Maeassoy was eliding from him the history of certaia deeds co jstitut'ng the socalled' '' Hcni Flani s-wiudlW 1 Mr WilsonN deameanouv bespoke ihe highminded solicitor who would be no pany to anything shady or questionable. He had to explain why, in a certain transaction between the plaintiff and souio natives, the consideration being £500, two deeds had been executed instead of a simple conveyance, namely a. mortgage for £490 and a conveyancd of the equity of redemption for £103. Mr Wilson said very bluntly, a " Ijjp'repared a conveyance expressing the tiue consideration, but Mr Russell, acting at the suggestion of a gentleman well known in the profession, adopted a rather ingenious device for evading the duty under the Native Lands Act to the amount of £50, and a fresh conveyance was engrossed by Mr Russell's clerk in lieu of the oae I had sent." The witness added that lie entirely disapproved of this clever device. In cross-examination, Mr Connolly elicited that the gentleman wel' known in the profession was Mr Dudley Ward. Mr Connolly quietly remarked, " For the credit of the profession, I am glad you have mentioned the name." His Honor said:— ''l presume, Mr Wilson, the duty under the Stamp Act waß likewise evaded ?" To wb'ch the witness replied ia tbe affirmative, His Honor : — " Was Mr Ward in practice at this time?" Mr Wilson: "No, your Honor} be occupied then the dietingu'shed positin he still fills— that of District Judge. 1 The members of the Bar exchanged significant looks,, and there was an expression of as* tonishmenton thn faces of many in Court.