The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1879.

Kumara Times, Issue 982, 22 November 1879, Page 2

The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1879.

By the Christchurch coach which passed the Boaley this morning there was one passenger and four bags of mails for Kumara. The San Francisco mail arrived by the noon tram to-day. A novel though very reprehensible method of obtaining a large quantity of fish with which the Teremakan river now abounds was .adopted by some person this morning, who exploded a charge of dynamite in the water by the bridge bringing to the surface some hundreds of fish in a st'.'p'ficd condition. We need hardly point out that if the ofteuce is repeated it will not be done with impunity, as, besides the destruction it may probably cause of the salmon in the river, it is an act that no true disciples of Isaac Walton will ever countenance but on the contrary they will use every endeavour to bring the offender within reach of the law. We direct special attention to a splen* did assortment of new -and valuable jewellery that Mr Dupre, of Greymouth, will shew at Gilbert Stewart’s commercial room, this evening. We may mention that on this occasion Mr Dupre will open out a large assortment of new goods, of various descriptions a consignment of which he has just received. Oui local marksmen have now some inducement offered to make good scores on the Rifle range by reason of a very handsome silver medal being offered for competition by Lieut. Spence. The medal will be awarded to the highest scorer in the district of the aggregate scores made in the first and second class, at the toriuination of the annual class firing. A sale of several allotments of Crown lands in the town of Dunganville, as also one section in the town of lvumara, will take place at the Lands Office, Hokitika, on the 17th of December next. At the Sydney Exhibition Lord Augustus Loftus addressed each of the “ foreign ” consuls in the language of the country for which he answered, and on finding that not one of the said “foreigners understood Ins ■ own language, was nearly as much disgusted as the Irish lady in one of Love s novels, who discovered her “ Tartar ” servant cook was a native of Cork. A letter from a military correspondent describes an accident to German troops during the autumn military manoeuvres near Gromina, a small garrison town about 20 miles from Leipsic. Two divisions of mounted troops and horse artillery were ordered to cross the river Mulde just above Gremina, where there are two fords about a mile apart. One division crossed by the upper ford in safety. The second division, however, was less fortunate, The river had been swollen by recent rains, and the wheels of one of the guns sinking in a quicksand the result was that one man of the mounted detachment, two drivers, and six horses harnessed to the gun were drowned. The consequences would probably have been still more serious had not LieutenantGeneral Von Senfft at once ridden into the river, and by voice and gesture encouraged the men to fresh exertions, by which means the remainder of the battery passed over in safety. The first stone of Cologne Cathedral was laid on August 15, 1248. The work is now in its 632nd year, and it is hoped t'u:.i the next anniversary will really see the finishing of the great Minster. The two towers have now reached their last stage, and have only to be fitted with their massive caps of solid stone-work. For this purpose two great scaffoldings have to be erected at a dizzy height; one of them, however, already approaches completion. 4\ hen. the caps have been finished, then a still higher story will have to be added to (he scaffoldings, in order to fix on the tops of the caps the gigantic foliated crosses, almost 30ft high, which are to crown the towers. This operation will, it is expected, be performed next spring.

The largest bridge in Europe will be completed next year. Tt will cross the Volga in the Government of Samara, Russia, on the Siberian railroad line. The Volga, at the point of the bridge, is about four miles wide in the Spring season, and in the Autumn 4792 feet. The bridge will be supported by twelve piers 85ft high with ice-cutters 35ft high, at a distance of every 3G4 feet. The ice-cutters are covered with granite. A temporary colony is established for the working men employed on the bridge ; it occupies about 5G acres, and has 60 different buildings, insured at 180,000 roubles. Two thousand men are employed, and among them are 100 Italian masons. Three steamers and seventy barges are used constantly for forwarding wood, stone, iron, and other materials. The brigde will cost about three quarters of a million.