The Lyell Times. SATURDAY, MAY 23, 1885.

Lyell Times and Central Buller Gazette, Volume V, Issue 222, 23 May 1885, Page 2

The Lyell Times. SATURDAY, MAY 23, 1885.

The want of a public ball, or some such place where amusements, meetings, and any other sociable gatherings could be held, as opportunity or necessity arose ; is a thing which seems to be constantly cropping to the surface, and we frequently hear the matter touched upon, among everyday topics of interest. Particularly so, just when winter is setting in, and when the long dreary evenings seem te give all outside affairs, such a dull unimviting aspect. That such a building, specially adapted for purposes of the kind referred to, has never been built, has often provoked remark, even by outsiders and visitors; but of course it does not follow

lii« k townspeople, or at It) tsf, -ill i»t* them, li ive failed lo see licit its ;».!>-ei» r? •> furnishes a deficiency in the appointm ;nt i ofthe necessary building usually reckoned j } as constituting a com plate township. On | s the conrary, we think there are a few It liere who could appreciate, and do reco*- 1 nise, the value and utility ot th-no nuans ! and mediums Uy whicb a small isolated t community, like that of Lyell, can he j i relieved of a lot of the monotony which ! i makes its affairs and times so tedious and 1 uninteresting. One hot 1-keeper, at eon- i siderable expense, did essay to provide a i place of the kind ; but, from the fact th it it was form irly part of fcho origin il li<*eus building, the law and a lot of adverse public fueling, have, up to the present, 1 operated agaiust its usefulness an I suitability. The fact remains, here the place is, without a recognised available place of amusement ; and it is needle to say, this has. of late years especially, bean felt to be a serious drawback in lots ot ways. It' a company, oy a lecturer visit the place, they must just taK/; not luck ; for the school-room is for different reasons, not always available, and more than that, its' situation ruins all its attractiveness and suitability for anything beyond what it wis designed for. Briefly, scope for indulgence of any kind in the recreative, seems circumscribed in every way: there is not even a public library in the place; even if is was prosperous, the chance of carrying out successful entertainments, —let them be for the purposes ef amusement, instruction or charity,—would b« a small one witnont a suitable building ; and even the exponents oi muscular Christianity in tha way in which it embraces dancing and j assembly parties, have no choice other than remaining quiescent. Trifling, as some inclined to be cynical might consider the matter we here touch upon, the thing will, we trust, and that before very long, get a little practical recognition. It j is not a very hard thing to see, that more I frequent frieudly assemblages and gatherings, would tend to harmonise the community ; besides diffusing a more general and neighbourly sociable feeling/ the absence of which, in the eourse of time generally ends in warped feelings and a submission to the sway of selfishness. The return of amalgam from the plates, ripples, and berdans, at the Alpine battery for the week, is 5020zs amalgam from 195 tons ot stone. Old Jemmy Meek, who was formerly a resident of this place, died in the Westport Hospital the o:her day. Mr O. 11. Trower, announces lie is applying to the Hampleu District Committee. for an accommodation license, at. Owen River. We observe the householder's certificate, is signod' by old settlers ani residents in the locality ; and as mining work, in progress in the Owen district, is attracting a population, and also causing an increased traffic, a place of the kind is greatly needed. The Reefton battery returns for last week were Welcome, 4210zs amalgam; Keep-it-Dark, 2950zs amalgam. Messrs A. Horn, Sontgen, Hughes, ; Bailie and Home, have been elected Directors ot the Red Queen Company. A r correspondent informs us that the show being opened by Bonifacio and party, at Rough and Tumble ; promises exceedingly - well. Where the stone is being wrought just now, it is not quite compact, but con- - sists lor the greater part, of gold-bearing t leaders ; the whole giving about two feet I of highly payable stuff. 5 It is announced that a full meeting of i shareholders in the Manuka Flat Co., is r to be held on Tuesday evening next,. for r the purpose of completing preliminaries r preparatory to registration. The business 7 being important, and including the election 1 of the first Directors, there is pretty sure » to be a good attendance. The most powerful dredger in the world , was launched for the Melbourne Harbour I Trust, at Renfew, on February 17th last, i She will lift 900 to 1000 tons of silt an I hour, and will dredge to a depth of 35 feet i below the water line.

An I >•» tin; marry party <>( rii-sman; ] \viio v<:i it *' bill;- I " io appear here o:i L\ la. y last, did no', emio; owing,—we presume, to the wi\;i»*hed and threatening slate of the Weather, which is gradually developing itself with true winter effeei. v The stage and the dramatic art, are things | we know very little of fchis way. and, very naturally, when it was announced that a ( regular company would ''show," a good j many wore ready, notwithstanding the } weather, to avail themselves of the j recreative. A Lvell audience is always a ] most appreciative one, and we hope whan Mr vYillmoto and his company are next* on the Coist, they will not be compelled to overlook us owing to bad weather. , They were to open in Westport last night. The Westland County Council have passed a by-law, under which all tenders o0 per cewt over, or o0 per cent under the estim ite of their engineer, will be rejected. The Council will not pay tco high for their work, neither will they allow men to ruin themselves. There is something sensible in this, and given, that the engineer fully realises the responsibility, and acts accordingly, the rule v\ ill have a good effect.