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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 201, 24 August 1880, Page 2

To the Editor o_* the " Evening Mail." Sir,— l notice in last night's Matl what purports to be a report of a public meeting held at Richmond on Friday evening last, the priucipal object of which, as it appears to me, being to throw blame and discredit on the Waimea Road Board. It is obviously unfair both to the Waimea 'Road Board and to the ratepayers of the other sub-districts tbat the object of the meeting waa not Bet forth in the advertisement calling the meeting when bo important a change as that of separation was contemplated. I should be sorry to impute unworthy motives to the conveners and promoters of that meeting, but they cannot pretend to say that they are going to benefit the ratepayers of Stoke and Waimea East by having an extra or two seta of officials to do what tbe present Board has already agreed shall be done by one man. This would be economy with a vengeance. Mr J. G. Harkness, who appears to have been the great gun of the evening, has furnished us with an array of figures which a generous public ought to feel grateful for. I do for one, as they show that ao long as the subsidies lasted the Board was anxious to do all that lay in its power to assist the out districts, and as soon as they had to grapple with their altered circumstances they knew then they were bound by law to expend the rates in the districts iv which they are raised, and had agreed among themselves to make good any deficiency either to Waimea East or any other sub-district under the Board these might have suffered, but this cannot well be done till we have paid off our overdraft, which at present amounts to about £500. I believe every member of the Board is actuated by a desire to do justice to all parts of tbe Board's district, bnt a great deal of expenditure is forced upon the Board, which if there were River Boards in existence, and a fund for the upkeep of the numerous large bridges in the various subdistricts the whole of the rates would then be available for roads proper. I might cay, in conclusion, that ratepayers living on back sections in every subdistrict have a cause of complaint for apparent neglect, when tbe truth is the forced expenditure as aforestated. It is quite refreshing to find gentlemen of energy and undoubted ability taking an interest in local affairs. If they could be prevailed upon to bring pressure to bear on the members of the House and Government, so that we may be provided with the necessary funds for roads and bridges, they would not be laying themßelveß open to the charge of "straining at gnats and swallowing camels. — I am, &c, W. White. Briehtwater, August 24, 1880.

This explains the condition of things at- j .- Charters Towers. Says the Northern M mer :~- --i «*lf JD an — -alias 'one of the bone and sinew,;- --' who raises a howl about the goats, saved the money: he and others like him spend in drink, he. would be able to pay the milkman and ;■' raise bis children above tbe condition they are now in." tinder the appropriate heading " Happy District," the following paragraph appears in the Christchurch Press :— At the last meeting of the Eyreton Road Board ifc wag de (Sided hot to levy any rate this year. It is clear that the Boar-i^ haying a large balance of the Government subsidies in hand, finds i itself in a position to carry ori for at least one year without rates. It is strongly suspected tbat an attempt was made to drug the favorite for the Derby a few days before the race. In referring to the subject, Vanity Fair says :— " Ifc was very fortunate for the backers of Bend Or that Robert Peck, the trainer of the colt, has good olfactory powers, for last week a packet of steel pills arrived from the chemist, and as the odor was not quite tbe same as those previously sent, the acute trainer suspected there was something wrong. On examination, one was found to contain some noxious drugs. Had this not been discovered the horse might have succumbed to what is called ' metallic fever.' " A promising but as yet undeveloped genius in tbe legal profession, who till now has been doomed to bud forth as an articled clerk, was recently emboldened to make formal application for admission to the police courts to practice as an attorney. To the question of the examination paper, v What are the rights of a minor?" he wrote, "To dig for gold." To another, " What are the rights of a sea captain ?" he wrote the equally deepdown reply, «To shoot the crew." The astounded listeners thought he should look for honors in a higher court. Those wbo know Archer the jockey say thafc by his extraordinary instinct he is enabled to estimate not only the powers of the horse which he rides himself, bufc he cau accurately judge of the capabilities of his competitors. The income of a good jockey is at least equal to tbat of tbe Lord Higb Chancellor of England^-£IO,OOO a year. Archer receives a retaining fee from the Duke of Westminster amounting to £1000 a year, simply to ride in any race either of his Grace's steeds that may be selected. This says nothing of feeß or judicious bets. Archer's income last year has been estimated afc £11,000, and tbis year ib is not likely to be less. Through the exertions of the Public Record, a newspaper in Philadelphia, the operations in selling bogus medical diplomas have probably been broken up. The city editor of the Record, under assumed names, obtained eight medical diplomas from the American University of Philadelphia, the Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania, and the Livingstone University. This work was done in connection with the Government authorities. Dr John Buchanan, tbe chief dealer in bogus diplomas, with three others of his faculty, were arrested and charged with using the mails for improper purposes, also witb fraud. The papers captured in Buchanan's office showed a sale of 3000 spurious diplomas, while there was a large quantity on hand. Buchanan's trade was chiefly with Germany, but some diplomas were sent to England. His prices varied from 65d01. to HOdol each. Nearly all the diplomas issued were ante-dated. Buchanan's colleges are legally incorporated by the Pennsylvania Legislature, but this exposure will be made the basis of forfeiting the charters. During the week ending August 7, the United Alpine Quartz Mining Company crushed 160 tons of stone, obtaining 352 ozs. of amalgam. The total amalgam accumulated for the month was 1425 ozs, which yielded 583 ozs. of gold, being an average of 8} dwfcß. of gold per ounce of amalgam. In the boxes, 3 ozs. of nuggety gold was found, sbowing that exceptionally coarse gold is occasionally met with in the reef. The directors met on Saturday evening, and declared a third dividend of one shilling per 32,000 th Bcrip, equal to £1600. In reference to the above Company, tbe Inangahua Times says :— " The days of ' fat takes ' in quartz mining in the Inangahua are not yet over, and some persons continue to draw handsome prizes from the game of speculation. Tbe last shilling dividend in tbe United Alpine Company bas let loose a considerable amount of capital, and as tbe shares are largely held in Reefton, most of tbe needful flows in this direction. One local Bonanzarian receives £150, while several other lucky holders draw £100, and downwards. The reef in the mine is 36 ft. in thickness, so we will leave all those who are ( out in the cawld ' to imagine what prosperity means." The Volunteer Gazette thinks that the whole question of the administration of the force wants opening up and setting on a sound basis ; and if the root of the matter is to be got afc all existing Volunteer Acts should be replaced by measures more in consonance with what is required. Extended powers should be given to the commanding officers over their men, and officers before receiving commissions should pass an examination tbat would establish their qualifications for the positions they seek to fill. We (Dunedin Star) agree wifch our contemporary tbat tbe present examinations are nothing else than a farce, and in some instances bave led to the appointment of officers utterly unfit to fulfil the dutieß required of tbem. A thorough military man should be at the head of the Defence Department if volunteering is to take a really higb position in the colony ; and to secure a really efficient, energetic, and in every way suitable man, fche Government should not scruple to give a good salary and have the appointment made by competent military authorities at home. Adjutants shonld be appointed to instruct tbe officers' and assist the officers commanding districts. The present system of appointing acting-adjutants monthly from the commissioned officers of the various corps cannot be said to be a success. ... They are really adjutants in name only, and cannot hope to command the respect which the holding bf the position should' entitle them to. There are plenty of \ good men to be got for these positions at a very moderate salary.