The Westport Times. FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 1872

Westport Times, Volume VI, Issue 992, 2 August 1872, Page 2

The Westport Times. FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 1872

■Parejitg .and guardians will no doubt hail with exceeding satisfaction the intimation, given in another column, that the new school building in Paltnerston staeet will 'be .opened for school duties on Monday nest. The need of proper school accommodation has given many youngsters a lengthened holiday. The school committee I intend at once carrying out improvements on the school site, by erecting a fence, laying down gravel, and placing a bridge at the approach to the schoolroom. A landslip, caused by the recent heavy rains, happened on Sunday last at Giles terrace, whereby all the water running in i the creek was dammed back, and work in the sluicing claims, for a time, put an ■ end to. All hands turned out on Monday and Tuesday to remove the obstruction, and have now cleaved a channel for the water. Another slip also occurred further ■ down, carrying away one of Harrison's flood boxes in the creek, and causing considerable ■ delay to ordinary work. It was fortunate in one respoct that the slips occurred on Sunday, because, had it been during or- - dinary working hours, it is far from improbable that some serious casualty to •human life would have followed, as in both .•places miners are usually working. A melancholy accident happened on "/Tuesday evening last on the Inangahua River, resulting, hi the drowning of Henry Hilderbrandt, the carrier, well known as 'German Harry. While crossing the Inan•gahua River, about seven miles below (Reef ton -with loading, the harness of one ■of the horses in his team' became entangled, andmecesitated a stoppage. Hilderbrandt got out on the shafts of the waggon to clear the tackling, .and was assisted by a i man named Charlie, who carts goods for :' Heihr and Molloy. By some unexplained I means,.poor Hilderbrandt lost his footing, . and -wasquickly carried away by the rapid i otrwent. Hi 3 mats being powerless to >Bs.ve ■flirc. As soon -as help could be obtained, instant search was made for the body of deceased. After some little time it was found about 3<)o yards down the stream. An inquest will be held to-day.

'The Reef ton Lodge of Oddfellows was •opened on Friday-last with the usual formalities. Almost thirty visiting brethren were present, and ten new members were initiated, 'lhe new lodge room adjoins flattery's hotel, in Broadway, and is a .«ammodious well finished structure. The .ball in celebration of the opening of the Lodge took place on the 29th, and passed off very sucsossfully ; nearly 50 couple be»lg present. JProfessor Haselmayer, styled, with msre ibhan accostomed truthfulness, the Prince •of Prestidigitators; will shortly gve a series of magical soirees at Westport. His confr*RQ, Mr Joe. Small, tli3 inimitable, having already arrived to make the nacessaxy arangemenlbs. The colonial press teems with hutdatory notices of the Professor's wondrous *kill, not only as a magician, but also as a talented musician, and •> d neat or of performing eanaries, Java sparrows, ;:nl mieo. He is said to bo without an equal in his line of business ; Anderson, Jacobs, Hermann, Hartz, Heller, and Blitz, junking into uuigaiSe&nce when compared

with hiin. He will open nt Sheaha ».'s Bijou Theatre, on the next arrival of the Wallabi from Wanganni. Mr N. Salomon, of Dunedin, arrived by the Charles Edward yesterday, bringing 1 with him a magnificent collection ot jewel lery and watches, which 'will be open for inspection and sale for a few days at tho Empire hotel. His advertised list, appearing in another column, convey* but a very faint idea of tli9 number and variety of beautiful articles on view. Having lately disposed of his business in Duuedin, Mr Salomon is enabled to bring with him a far more expensive and elaborate stock than has ever before been opened out on the West Coast; and the collection to which he now invites inspection is really dazzling in its brilliancy and artistic workmanship. Tho display of diamond-), emeralds, rubies, and other preeioiw stones is superb, and the infinite variety of jewellery, gold and silver watches, silver plate, and articles, useful and ornamental, cannot be excelled except perhaps iD one or two of the larger towns of New Zealand. The performance at Sheahan's Bjou Theatre for the benefit of little Amy, on Tuesday evening last, proved a success, the attendance being as good as could reasonably bo expected, taking into account the present depressed state of affairs; and the programme presented was got through in a very creditable style. On the young benefieiare rested the responsibility of sustaining the principal parts in the performance, a task which she accomplished with unflagging zeal and exceeding cleverness. Tragedy, comedy, song, and dance were all essayed, and in all she proved more than usually successful, In the prison scene from " King John," and the rampart scene from " Hamlet. " she astonished those who had only seen her perform in merrier parts, by the "depth of character and intensity of emotion shown in her personation of two difficult, and widely different conceptions. The amateurs who assisted in the performance got through their allotted parts to tho satisfaction of themselves and the audience, winning unbounded, aud at times uproarious applause. Mr Koberts in his local songs, made some very palpable hits, which, however, were received with imperturbable good humour by those most concerned therein. The concluding portion of the performance was the venerable, bat ever verdant, farce of " Box and Cox," wherein little Amy made a diminutive but mirth provoking Mrs Bouncer, and Messrs Manning and Bush as the " s>ent in the printing trade," and the " gentle hatter," rattled through their parts at a merry pace, and brought the performance to a satisfactory conclusion.

Mr Dobson. Provincial Engineer, in his report on the Wai-iti river, Waimea District, writes : —" lam of opinion that there is only one method by which the low-lying lands can be protected, and that is by planting. I consider it will be necessary to plant a broad belt of willows on each bank of the river from end to end. and all islands and broad parts of the shingle bed should also be planted ; as these grow, they will prevent the erosion of the bank, and will also confine the water, and make it deepen the channel, the tree stems will catch the fine silt as it is brought down during floods, and the river banks will be raised in proportion as the bed is raised." Some such system of willow planting might be found of more real utility on the banks of the Buller river than any protective works yet adopted. A fire broke at Miss Carmody's City Hotel, Charleston, on Wednesday morning, but the flames were promptly subdued before much damage was done. Thi3 is the second time a lire has occurred at the " City." At Kossfcown sluicing parties are adopting a system of canvas fiuming, which is used in many parts of Otago, especially on the Kawarau and Molyneux rivers. It consists of two wire rope 3 running parallel, between which the hose or fluming is slung by hoop-iron bands about 18 inches apart! By this system water may be carried across streams or over deep gullies where the erection of ordinary wooden flaming is impracticable. In reply to an enquiry the Government have stated that all deficits in railway receipts would be made up by direct taxation. What this means may be best understood by remembrance of the fact that a million and a half of money has been already borrowed for railway purposes; the returns from which are as yet nil, aud the annual interest thereon amounts to .£70,000. Further taxation can now only take the new direction of an Income or Property tax. Among other returns moved for in Parliament were those of the travelling expenses of officials, and of tho amonnt of penalties inflicted on the San Francisco mail contractors. Select Committees have also been appointed to enquire into the resources of the colony and into the working of the New Zealand Uuiversitv Act. J Tho Auckland Chamber of Commerce urge the Government to license crushing machines, as stolen specimens are continually being crushed by private machines, the legitimate shareholders being defrauded. Tho panic which at present affects the Coromandel Goldfield is nothing more than any observant man might have foreseen; though its arrival has been somewhat accelerated by the recent exposures made in respect to the conduct of one of the leading companies of the district. The • Coroman" del Times' says:—"Regardless of the warning of scarce three years ago, the experience of those who speculated so wildly in the Thames Goldfield was forgotten, and we have, during the past few months, witnessed a repetition in this community of its former folly. A comparatively limited number of paying and prospectively valuable mine 3 have formed the cover under which there have been issued to the public hundreds of thousands of scrip in every part of the field. Ground has been pegged off, and companies have been formed—sometimes the latter without the former preliminary, and often upon land to which disputed ownership was certain—which heralded in with a flourish of trumpets, are to put Bismarcka and Tokateas in the shade; yet, some how or other, until a call is made, the purchaser into thfsts claims hears nothing further of them, though probably some few months hence he may be again reminded of their existence by the Official Agent."