THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY MONDAY, OCTOBER 22,1877.

Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 85, 22 October 1877, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1877.

A communication has been received by the County Chairman here from Mr C. V. O'Connor stating tbat tbe tender of Devery and Q-'allagher for tbe construction of the Grey- Reefton rond would be recommended to the General Government for acceptance. Before the matter fs decided uponj however, Mr O'Connor desires to be famished with certaiu details, of the contract, and immediately upon the receipt of 1 hose documents the decision will be' given. It is satisfactory to find that this long pending work is at last to be taken in hand, and as the five weather is now upon us, considerable progress will no doubt be made- by the'contractora with »he work- of construct^ ion before the winter se(s in. The contractor for the erection of the Church of! Englan d: building has made great progress, and the main work of the structure is approaching completion. The building .will probably be out of the lnmds of the workmen in the course of a month- or so. 1 The depression in the sharc-markctoon-tinues, and transactions are now chiefly limited to stocks in a few of the leading companies. The market is, however, in an un« settled state, and, in the courso of a/ very short time, we may look for a-< return' to eometbingLof the ol'l activity. The gold from tho Hopeful Company's last crushing waa brought into town and lodged with the Bank of Now Zealand on Friday last. The parcel as it left tho ivtJort weighed 986 oz. sdwt, which, when melted; turned out 975 oz. 2 dwt. The quantity of stone crushed wai 450 tons, thus giving an average of about 2 oZ. 4 dwt. per ton. The work of • proceeding with the erection of the new building for tho Roman Catholic congregation has been delayed in consequence of the non«-arrival of tho detail plans of the building. These are, however, expected from Wellington during the current week, and immediately upon their receipt stjps will bo taken by the building committee to-get the work in progress. Mr Thomas Deegan Ind a narrow escape wlien proceeding to Boatman's on- Friday last. When attempting to cross tho Left-hand Branch ; at : Forn FliilV his horso was ca-ried away by the force of the fbod. The rivfr was greatly swollen at tlie time, but by the exercise of great presence of mind, ho cou< tfived to ateer the horse to a shingle beach and o:osscd. Too great cau ion cannot be exercised by horsemen in crossing the ford, as it is one of the most dangerous in tho Inangahua in times of flood. There was a considerable fresh in the Inangahua river yi>9terday morning, and the fords both north and Soutli were unworkable. Some staging U3ed in the erection of the suspension bridge was washed awuy, but Uio loss oc« casioued is trivial. The river, however, has encroached considerably upon the sou! liern bank of the river near tho Chinamen's giir- ' dp.n, and it is plain to be seen that unless something is done quickly to shield the bank from tbe force of flood currents, the depth of • water there will, before long, prove a serious 1 barrier to the formation of protective works r and render them very Co3tly, Complaints are made of the scant support .] accorded ' to the Ileefton Athenawin, nnd unless some belter provision 13 made for the ' institution, it is more than probable that tho c efforts so long mado in- its behalf by a few of the gentlemen interenling themselves -in the matter, will fall through. Tho stock of books bus been exhausted by readers, and it is H hardly to be wondered that subscribers drop oil' tba roll of members, It wnild be a pity and a disgrace to tho community to .-cc such an institution closed ap, und for this reason it i is to bo hoped some further effort will be , mado to render it' more attractive. Aa- Hid institution io essentially of the community-—

open alike to all ratepayers — we think the committee might farrly tura to the County Council for some special assistance, if only in the uature of a pound for pound subsidy. Here at once is an opening for the amateur talent of the district. The County Council havo prepared plans and sections for the formation and metalling of Bridge Street, full width, and tenders will be called for the work immediately. A thunderstorm of unusual violence broke over the town of Reefton on Saturday evening last, and occasioned no small alarm to those Hiving in the outskirts of the town: Tire accom panyiug thunder and lightning was terrific, and lusted nearly hulf-air-hour. A heavy downpour of rain followed, and lasted throughout the night. It is eisawhere announced that the Rev Mr Henry Bull, will deliver a lecture this evening, at tho United Methodist Free Church, subject: "Life and Tiroes of John Wesley." Tenders for tho maintenance of the Saddle Road closed on Saturday last, but their consideration was deferred. A op"cial meeting of the Executive Committee of the County Council will be held to-day when the tenders will be opened and dealt with, The attendance at Gilmer's Hall on Frida£ evening last, on tho occasion of Miss Lyster's benefit was not so large us was expected though tho room was moderately well filled. Tho performance wu3 announced to commence at 8 o'clock sharp, but as half-past 8 o'clock •came round without any indication of a' start, the audiense began to betray some impatience, A little later one of the amateurs came before ' the curtain and explained that owing to one of the performere (Mr Butler) having, without the slightest intimation or explanation, failed to put in an appearance the amateurs had been thrown into a most awkward dilemma, and for some time despaired of being able to proceed at all. By a most fortunate circumstance, however, Mr Leech chanced to be 11 town, and the difficulty having beeu explained to that gentleman he at once kindly consented to step into the breach and road the part which had been so unworthily aud jmwaccountably shirked. This announcement was received with considerable applause, and shortly afcerwurds tho curtain • rose. Of the piece itself ,: The Ticket of Leave Man," its production under all tho oircumstancea was most creditable. The play, it is almost needless to say, is one requiring considerable dramatic ability over a' 'large number of the pieri'ovtncrs, , and tukmg i fully into account the absence of scenic 'effect and numerous other stage accessoriesupon Which much of the interest of the .piece centres, tho representation was success* ful beyond mere mediocrity. Mr Leech,' laboring under all the disadvantage alluded to, imparted un entity and vigor to the character of Jem Dalton, considerably above ' tho lovel of even good amateur delinatior., and» by his thorough grasp of the character leavened the whole performance with an interest it undoubtedly would not otherwise have possessed. Mr luglis, as Bob Brierly, deserves also to be mentioned in terms of the fullest commendation. The character is' one requiring great' Versatility of power on 1 the part of the performer to give it a genuine vitality- -a double life— so to speak, aud the manner in which Mr Ingli's rendered it, would, we are sure, win for him ,"rom a much more critical und exacting audience un equal measure of approbation to that which he deservedly received. Mr Bell's Melter Moss was c careful and clever impciw. sanation. The muke up was good, and the conception evenly und meritoriously borne out Mr Grey had the real appearance of tho typical Mr- Gibson, and acted the part in a gentlemanly and clever manner, Mr Hopwood as the irrepressible Maltby aquitted himself very creditably, as also did Mr Orumpton (Mr Jackson) and Mr Potts (Hawkshaw.) Miss Lyster as Sam 'WiU lough by kept the audieuce in roars of • laughter thSroughbufe,' -and did tho intractable youug6ter to perfection. Mrs Nicholas, in the difficult character of May Edwawle/ played the part feelingly, and in a spirit of genuine euruestuess and reality which won' for her frequent applause. Mr Martinelli as tho " lone widder " (Mrs Willbughby) 'was a htost of himself und provided a store of genuine entertainment. Miss Williamson, as Julia St. Everemond, 1 acquitted herself grace* fully, and disposed ofher- pai«t in a very pleasing manner. The performance was re» peated on Saturday night* and our notice embraces the two performances, but we regret very* much to learn that in a financial sdnse, tho result has been anything but asuccess for Miss Lyster and Mr Inglis. Mr W, L. Rees has a loyal defender. In a leading article- which- appeared in a recent issue of the Otogo Guardian, criticising tho attack of Mr Oi'raoud on Sir George Grey and others, appeared the following relative to Mr Rees : '• But not less grossly scandalous wus the base insult hurled by this samo Minister aguinsfc tlie membor for Auckland City East; Mr Rees. Wk aro perfectly awure that through the vile, vindictive efforts of ul! the friends and supporters of the pre« sent Ministry there has boon a-fceling widely diffused of pivjudico ugaiust this gentleman, and wo do not hesitate to cay that there is not a more honorable, upright man 'within the coast-lino of Now Zealand. Like all men of independent mind and fearless speech and action, he h:>3 hosLs of tlie bitterest enemies. Ih the Province in which ho lives and practices his profession there i 3 scarcely a vi'laiu who bus not an innate fear of him, for the simple reason that as a lawyer and a mun he is prepared fco espouse tho cause of ' uny man tint is wronged without the prospect of reward or ive, however powerful or wealthy his enemies may be. Indeed, tho more powerful und wealthy the wrongdoer, tho ■moro firm and determined is his action. His wholo professional lifo in hia Province hu3 ben a contest wi.h one after another of thet •• various members und subsections of ti.e grea. " ring thut has made Auckland laud swindles •almost as infurious !is those of Huv/ku's Bay, W'ccould Ull-of oases in which fortune wjuH

have been laid at his foefc had he betrayed or at least deserted 6&tt& poor wretches ; without a farthing ia the World present or , prospective, who Were etrugyfing to win back a 'lit tie of that of which they had been robbed ;• and in a generous noble-kearted devotion to whit he believed to be right, and in unflinelT' ; ing and bitter resistance to what he conceived to be Injustice, he has kept himself com* paratively poor, while other lawyers with' not one«tenth his Ments have, by either acting for tho ring or simply standing by and minding their own business amassed fortunes. A man of ihe purest moral character, against whteh the tongue of slander has never wagged r simple aud abstemious in habits, exemplary iti all his domestic relations, he is esteemed and 1 lo ced by fcho9ethat intimately know him, but a terror to his enemies," The setting in of the warm weather has already induced some few bathers to take their mottling plunge on tlw beach. Afosthe bathiug season is now setting in the following seasonable advice, published by the Boyal Humane Society of England may pro re of value :—'• Avoid bathing within two' hours after a meal, or when exhaustod by fatigue or from other cause, or when the body is cooling after perspiration, and avoid bathing alto' gether in the open air if, after being a short time in the water, there is a sense of dullness and numbness of the Hands and feet-, but bathe when the body is warm, provided no time is lost in getting into the wuter. Avoid chilling the body sitting or standing undressed on the banks or in boats after having. been' in the waCor or remaining too long in tho water, but leavo the water immediately there is the slightest feeling of dullness. The vigorous and strong may bathe early in the morning on an empty stomach, but the young and thoso who are weak had better bathe two or threo hWui-S after a meal ; the best time for such is from two or three hours after breakfast. Those wh!©' are Su'bjeet to < attacks of giddiness or faintness, and who suffer from palpitation and other sens eof discomfort at the heart, should ' not bathe without first consulting their medical adviser." The Waikato Times acknowledges the receipt of a hare thtiftly .— M We have to" acknowledge tho receipt from- an esteemed quarter, of a rabbit' of extremely suspicious appearance. Were we not to some extent a' believer in the Darwinian theory, we should 1 ' imagine' that the anim.,l in question' was- a" hare, but have no doubt' that it is^-after allonly a rabbit in process of development. It is satisfactory to feel this, inasmuch as it is : now- the close soasou«for hares, and' we should' scarcely havo liked to havo been led into a ■ tompation it -would have been hard to have resisted. Haviug a firm filißln in Darwin's theory, we shall hUsteu to eat that rabbit, and -the addition* of red enrrant jelly will help to give us still 1 greater faith in the transmutation. Ail we say to our esteemed friend is— Don't temp ; us again. , Try us with a sucking pig, a fat goose, or even a turkey, but don't tempt- us t-9 treat with disrepeet the Acts of a ColoLiial'Legislature, whoso amiable und dignified members have taught us to<re<« ' vcience the very parchment thouvstatutes" ai'O printed upon-. A severe lesson wasr taught by the Vincent County Council' to a • contracting firm by the forfeiture of- over i&OO due on completion of a* road eontrnof which, oiv being inspected, was found to bo- not accord' ing to specifications. The surveyor advised 1 a deduction equal to £125,- as the' amount) of woric^to which the Couucil was-entitled, and had not received," but the necessity of an ox--ample was au unanimously allowed, hence the forfeiture, A Welliugton' exchange says :— Mr Stafford last night bore a graceful testimony to certain ' services rendered by Sit' George Grey when Governor in going among a tribe of Maoris whbm he know and raising: a contingent ub a ■< precarious time, and thus keeping in chock a large body of discontented aild,hostile Maoris. Healsoalluddd't'o Sir Georgß Grey \.henhe had ceased to bo Governor, making the same offer bt a similar juncture. While Mr Stafford was speaking thus Mr Rees gave' vent to ■ a loud, incredulous and sneering laugh, whereupon Mr Stafford turned and said : " Tlie hon member for City 4 Easf laughs in that peculiar manner to wbiflh he is accustomed ; but perhaps he will permit me to say that thb hon member 'for the Thames and .myself have' been on tho most intithate terms for yearsbefore the member fbr City Ehst ever Sot foot" in New Zealand, and it is qttite probable a' 1 like intimacy will continue to exist after thb member for City East has left it shores." Mr Rees did cofrbacohinate any more thdt evening, Mr Stafford made an able speech;' well ddi" vered, and Clever in its pointa. To Pour Liquid' "Fire down enfc's throat in the .shape" of fiery, adulterated, unme*dicated spirits, is to commit slow suieidij. When your flagging cnersiej require tb lie reinforced, use that safest, purest, and most invigorating of stimulants, indorsed, by tho most distinguished chemists, physicians, and clergymen — Uooipffo Wolfe's Schiedam; A BOMftTic Schnapps. It is the only spirituous invigorant and corrective which docs not over excite thot brain. — Advt.