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Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 413, 22 February 1877, Page 2

Thb escort return for the current month sent from Naseby, is 1528 ounces. Messrs. Gason and M'Donald hayebeen appointed valuers for the Corporation. The valuation list is to be completed by the 26th instant, from which date until the 14th of March it will be competent for ratepayers to inspect the list at the Town Clerk's office, and lodge objections, if any, -with the Clerk of the Court. The Court will sit on the 15th March, to decide any objections which may have been lodged. The inspection of the Government school at JSaseby on Friday last, we understand, was of a satisfactory nature. The Inspector's report is not yet in the hands of the School Committee. The Committee made a special request to be accurately informed as to the state of tuition in the school, judged by results. The report therefore, when'to hand, should satisfy parents that in cases where the children are not making sufficient progress, some other cause than inefficiency of tuition must be looked for. The excessive irregularity of attendance, especially among the bigger pupils, although not in excess of the average of Government schools, is very much against advancement. At Oaniaru on Saturday last the Dunedin cricketing team were waiting on the breakwater for the Dunedin steamer till after midnight. The «Daily Times' reports that the night was rather stormy the flashes of lightning brilliantly illuminating the whole of Oamaru. In the same paper a telegram states that on Saturday afternoon, at an early hour, a smart thunderstorm passed over the. Peninsula at Lyttelton. We see no mention in the Dunedin papers of Monday of any storm being reported as having occurred locally. The •' Palmerston Times ' reports that: —"At dusk on Saturday afternoon no one would have thought of witnessing the sudden changes which took place in the weather. At eight o'clock the night wa3 peculiarly bright and starry, the atmosphere sultry, yet balmy, and resembling the sunny clime of Italy. Within an hour and a half afterwards, vivid flashes of lightning lit up the horizon, exposing to view banks of threatening-looking clouds. Peals of thunder soon followed, reverberating from hill to hill, and lending.a still more solemn and impressive character to the dead stillness of the night. The lightning was very biuliant, and appeared at times to encircle the horizon, and to start simultaneously from every point of the compass, succeeded by thrilling peals of thunder. The phenomenon was one of peculiar grandeur, and far exceeded in effect the most successful pyrotechnic display ever witnessed. Rain fell heavily in some portions of the district. Thunder also was

heard at interval throughout the night, and the continuous display of nature's fireworks ™ S^ de3t and effective eveS nessed in this part of New Zealand

At a meeting of the Presbyterian Church Committee on Monday last it was agreed that leave of absence should be granted to the Rev. J. M-CoshSmith foroney'ar Mr sScT 1S GDgaged during Mr - Smith ' s »b-'

fmi US /? mple , of t dney P° tatoes h ** teen foiwardedi to us by Mr. M'Whirter, of Kve- ™?- V" Sample is the Produce of one wethuS \tT St %? potatoes! weighing 8i lbs. There is no doubt potatoes i e F owa > aU tßat * now wanted is mouths to consume them. wal "ea is

W?l" e i be able to re P°rt that his Worship the Mayor of Naseby \as brought under Mr Barr's notice the £! qtter weekly mad being madeup for Naseby on Wednesday afternoons. The Chief Postmaster, with hia-wonted readiness, has made the necessary arrangements. In future lettera or papers posted in Dunedin on Wednesday will reach Naseby, via Clyde, on Friday afternoon. An extra maU for Dunedin • Will be made up at Nasefey on Tuesday mornmg, reaching Dunedin early on Thursday

Some wise persons imagine that' the new form of local government will place additional power m the hands, of the squatter, at the expense of the mining interest. This is altogether folly. The miners' taxation is certainly perpetuated. His access to any outside power in the shape of government, i» pretty well cut off, but in his own County the miner, if he chooses, can rule the roost with " od ,f ™?> » a ™7 which has never been possible before. The moderation shown by themuiers during the County elections on the Goldfields should refute such idle and utterly unwarranted nonsense. In every Countv where squatters, with any pretensions to good sense and liberality of view, have put up, they have received a liberal support from the miners. If they use their public positions with equal moderation for the general welfare, the miners will not interfere with them or oust them from that fair say in the County Government to which they are en-

_ It is supposed by some that in an article in last week's issue we were hard on the In. specters upon the Worka. Such was not our intention; what we blamed was manage! ment by inspection. It should be obvious to aU practical men that on such works as the flushing race which is to do a double duty, 000 lald f[ ow * might be inspected to perfection and the gradients be true to a hair-breadth, yet, if the water were not con. veyed where it was needed, the beauty of the inspection is wasted. What is wanted now more than ever is a discretionary management,. and that we can never have wfile Management by Inspection » is continued. The Engineer informs us that the work on the hushing race is very good; therefore the inspection of such work must be good At any rate we find no fault with it. With re. gard to the Channel, of course there is nothing to inspect. If there were no doubt the Inspector s vigilance would be all that is to be required In this case also, if we could get nd of Management by Inspection," the numerous difficulties we have to encounter might be grappled with, in particular the cancellation of the lower portion of the Extended Company's tail race, by conditional agreement. The present system of the banks ot the surface tail race driving the flood watersontothe deep Channel banks, and the Channel reversing the compliment, is a game at cross purposes that should not be tolerated for a day longer than possible. It is simply, in the case of a flood, a trial of of strength between the Government banks and the Company's banks. If the race breaks, well and good—no very great damage is done. If tie Channel is broken into, the damage may be very considerable. Management by Inspection" is responsible tor the continuation of this state of things

Mar^. LiCenSing CoUrt sits on Tuesda y. the 6th ot houSTt^ y e^n a DfgU e^h 0 * * t HB d Janniversary fete of the Ark of Safetv Lodge, 1.0.6. T., is to be held on FridayTtte 23rd7 wit, is being arranged in connection a? a shorS?*™ 11 t0 be Md at • r^^S ß \ lm>^J^ n> Ge °kge announce the sale ot valuable household furniture and hotel rtocS at tfMarch? MWCII 10th ' and alß °