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Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2562, 23 March 1877, Page 2

We regret to have to record the death of Mr James ELernick, who has been for a long time suffering from consumption, and whose deatlrwas not altogether unexpected. Mr Kernick was for a long time mine manager of the Kuranui Company, in which position he was generally liked. He was a local "preacher of the Wesleyan body, and a zealous teacher. •He died to-day at the age of 51, the immediate cause of death being inflammation of the lungs.

The Thames Naval Brigade and band will hold their usual monthly church parade on Sunday next, it being the last Sunday of the month; ; .■■•,.-.

The company and band of No. 2 H.E V. will assemble this evening at 7 p'clock for a march,-out to -Parawai and back. A large number will probably muster, as this is the first time the newly formed band have appeared in public with their musical instruments. ;The company:will fall in on Sunday -next for Church parade at Ip;is aoiiv i

The Thames Naval Brigade at their meeting last night proceeded to the election of a captain in the place of Mr W. Brassey, who resigned. Three candidates were proposed, but Lieut. Gavin retired, leaving the contest to Messrs Best and Cameron. The former was elected by the small majority pf one. The muster of members was a good one.

To-day being visiting day at the Mbanatairi mine, about, 150 persons availed themselves of the privilege to inspect the goldeti treasures of 9 reef. Some came away very much, disappointed, and very shortly after theretVas a; lull in the sharemarket, then a fall m- price. Howover the downward tendency Was not long continued, and; shares^ nearly regained the price at which the market opened this morning. - : A- shot was put ia^this morning and fired'"just before visitors'went" down. This brought down. rich stone, but the powdpr~ smoke and; the > black from scores of candies poked into the reef obscured the gold from the inexperiencpd,.and some visitors came' away, disappointed, having expected to see the glittering metal in profusion. Another source of 'complaint with some visitors; was the number of boys and.hobbledehoys, w.ho.iwereallow.ed to crowd the workings and incommode the shareholders and others who went below actuated by other motives than curiosity. Some discretionary power might be left to the manager or his bosses in this, matter,* for; small boys cannot do much" good and they may come to harm if permitted to peregrinate the;workings of a mine. / '• ; .

Me A. Aitoen, County Surveyor, who has been, away; on a ; tour: of inspectionj returned from Obinemuri last night. The work of improving tharoad is progressing satisfactorily considering the limited number of men employed. On the Mackaytown road the drains are being put in order and the swampy places fascined to render the road passable during the winter. The drainingof the swamp between Paeroa and Puke was to be commenced this morning, but some difficulty is apprehended with the natives, as the work" was to begin at a point about 160 yards from the pah, and Tukukinoobjects to the draining of :the swamp; Some men have been placed on the Mackaytown "and Waitekauri and Paeroa-Waitekauri roads to make good the ;ba'd places against 1 winter. No large~ sum of money will; be spent on these' tracks, as considerable deviations will have-to- be made. < One of the Hikutaia hills has been cut round and a passable track lor horses and .cattle made... This .track will be suited for a dray road. It is that portion which Tukukinoobjectedtqbeingformed. About 24 men are employed between Puriri and Paeroal While afc Kbmata, Mr Aitken.was requested by a couple of Natives to accompany them back to Ohinemuri, but he declined. Two men were, to start on the Tairua track this morning to repair some bad places, and a couple were to be placed on theTaiiranga road. ■_' ;

The New Zealand Herald, in its yesterday's ■ issue, ,has the following paragraph regarding the Thames'G.M;.Co.: — " As the stock of the Thanies G.M.Co., which-consists of 6000 paid-up shares, and upon which there can be ho further calls made, are coming prominently before the public, it may' be interesting to our readers to know that the company possess some valuable interests in those mines which have, and are now, attracting the attention of capitalists and speculators :— In the Moan'atairi mine, 587; Kuranui Hill, 1996;" Alb'urnia, 516 new and 533 old issue ; Ked Queen, 885 ; Caledonian, '632; Union Beach, 171, representing a value of about £1200 at yesterday's buying ' quotations in these mines alone." We daresay that many people at the Thames would be glad to give more than twice £1200, which the Herald says is the value of these 6000 shares! considering 1 that, according to the quotations of the Auckland market on "Wednesday, which the Herald alludes to, the 587 Moai natairi shares alone were worth £6457, to say nothing of 171 shares in the Union Beach at £2, and 1996 Kuranui Hill at 18s 6d, with the 632 Caledonian at £2. *

Caelyle is reported to have written to a friend : —" A good sort of man is this Darwin, and well-meaning, but with^very little intellect. Ah,' it's a sad, a terrible thing to see nigh a whole generation of men and women, professiDg to bo cultivated, looking round in a purblind fashion, and finding no -God in this universe. I suppose it is a reaction from the reign of cant and hollow pretence professing to believe what, in fact, they do not believe. And this is what we have to do. All things from frog spawn.; the gospel of dirt the order of the day. The older I grow —and I now stand, upon the brink of eternity—the more comes back to me the sentence in the catechism which I learned when a child, and the fuller and deeper, its meaning becomes, ' What is the chief end of man? To glorify God, and enjoy him for every.' No gospel of dirt, teaching that men have descended from frogs, through monkeys, can ever set that aside." ....'. .