The Tararua Mountains.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2961, 27 July 1888, Page 2

The Tararua Mountains.

. _ It is a well-known fact that during times of depression mora mineral deposits are found, and valuable;ores discovered than during times of pros- ' parity. Lying to the West of Master- • ton is a range of mountains which as s yet have never been thoroughly exI plored. During the present year i within the vicinity of this mountainous region valuable discoveries havo been made, A preliminary search by ' a small band of hardy miners'has brought to light proof tliat we have within a short distanco of this town a valuable coal deposit, and with the return of fine weather we may with confidence look forward to further important discoveries. What we want in our midst are industries, and it is to the Tararua ranges we ought to turn as one source of supply, Mr A, ' M'Kay, M.S., for some time past Las had his attention turned tc the existence of valuable building stone in the Tararua Mountains. & paper was read to the members of the Philharmonic Society on Wednesday last by Mr_ M'Kay treating upon this subject. Specimens ol marble wero laid before the Society and more fully illustrate his subject We extraot from yesterday's Post thai part of the report more particularly bearing upon this district, Aftei referring to tlio quaries in the imined iate vicinity of Wellington, Mr M'l(a; said that in the month of October samples of a comparatively soft sand stone were brought to the Colonia Museum from the western slopes o the Tararua Mountains, and he visitei the locality, only to find that in sit\ this rock was as hard as any of thi sandstones in .the neighborhood o Wellington, and could not be madi uso of in the manner described Shortly afterwards he examined tin rocks of the range forming the wate parting between the Euamaliunga am Manawatu basins, with special refer enco to tho occurrence of limestom five miles south of Eketahuna, am close to the main line of road ti Masterton. These limestones formei a bed from ten to twelve feet ii thicknoss, and were sufficiently ban to take a good polish. Thoy variei in colors, being red, green, or groy and wero usually veined with whiti calc spar veins, Polished speoimen showed very pretty as a marble, bu unfortunately at the outcrop, am apparently throughout, tho stone wa so muoh jointedthat no blooks mor< than 2ft Gin appeared likely to bi obtained. A sample of the stone wai upon the table, but tho larger am better-looking specimens were < a present in Melbourne as part of thi geolooical survey exhibits, Late in the season Mr M'Kay said he ox plored the' eastern slopes of th Tararua Ranges between tho Wai ngawa and Tauherenikau valleys, am along the gorge of the Waiohine rhroi 4. great part of the high vertical wall of rock forming the Waiohine Gorg were formed of oaloareous dlabasi ash, similar to that described by th Jate Sir Julius Von Haast as forminj the upper part of tho Selwyn Gorg in the Malvern Hills boundary of tb Canterbury district, The rocks ap peared to be an altered volcanic asi

and would bo very beautiful ifout'and 4 polished. Near tlio mbiith;of-Red ' Creek,'- a: stream coming fiornvfte/ " Cowo" mountain, a piecer had .bee iV' obtained, of which a polished specimen was upon the table, and" lieiv believed | that in some parts of the Waiohine Gorge the more calcareous rock's of.a mixed white and, green color/ would; quarry in large blocks and tatooxcel-* lent polish, They were, however, bo situate that at the presenfc ' timeyiley. could hardly be worked with profit. ':

The' Seamy Side' of Si'^durne The" abovo formed tho subject of address by the Rov J. J. Lewis to the.' - young men of St. Albans Wesleyan.'•• Church. He took for liis "text .the words:" For it is a shame ovoii to • speak of those things which iare of themin secret-."; A' popular con-V : ception of a minister of the'gospel;';.. regarded him- is; a oross])etween;»n old womp muminyi from his study to : the churoh, : ; and from the church to; liis study; having; nothing in common with iho/work-a-. ; day world. : He. wished.to sliow that .-J ministers sympathised with'hisstutos.'£ thetemptations, and the desires of £ young meu, arid wanted to lead tliorn to'tipuverand noblormanho6d,; : :The preacher- spoke • of ' his ideas of Mel;, : \ bonriie,",obtained during'"his; visit to.' ;.; that city ■when .the recent General. Coi) fereuco T was in He had- . seen much to admire, but muck also deserving reprobation,- as; for. instance. v tho .wide, prevalence of .a gambling : spirit, which showed, itself : inreckless land .speculation, .'as" woll as in numerous sweeps and; bets. - .: There was ,much coarse infidelity also. Some ministers connected - with the Conference determined to see forthem-" solves something of the" seamy sido" - of Melbourne life, and, under, the 1 guidance of a. detective, explored the slums. The Chinese quarter came'. first under examination, and hero the ' visitors noted that four-fifths of the gamblers in the fan-tan dens were Englishmen, somo of them most respectably dressed. The saddest thing - " connected with the Chinese dens, however, was the presence of large numbers of young English girls.' The clerical investigators declined tho do-' tective'3 offer to conduct'them through ■ some of the English houses of ill-fame ami inspected, instead, a : sixpenny lodging-house, the squalid misery of' which Mr Lewis described in' forcible; language. A visit to tlie Princess's Theatre concluded the minister's ;; tour of inspection, and the speaker gave it as his opiuion. that the theatre, with its brilliancy and splendor 'was but the prelude to the opium den, the sixpenny lodging-house, and the houses of ill-fame. Ho then earnestly ; advised his hearers to shun evil' com-, panions and intoxicating drink, gambling,. and impurity. ' They should . treat all women with -.- manly and •: chivalrous courtesy, and.. never do towards any woman au : unmanly ordishonorable: action, such as - they.* would resent if done to tjieir own , mothers or sisters. He professed himself in -fullest sympathy , with all , athletic exercises, and not opposed to' , those who urged, tho leading of a moral life as the euro for the evils to which ho had alluded, the/law could do something; by granting local' • option, so as to onablo people to prevent the multiplication of - public houses in _ their midßt, by abolishing the totalisator, and putting down ' sweeps and betting. Education could also do muchby training people in habits of reflection, sound thought, and good judgment. The real remedy, however, was to -be found in tho Gospel of Christ.—Dunedin Star.' ,' '