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Grey River Argus, Issue 100, 1 September 1866, Page 2

A narrow escape from what might have proved a very serious fire occurred at Sweeney's Hotel, on Wednesday afternoon. A stove pipe passes through the weatherboarded side of the hotel, and by some means the wood near the pipo became ignitfcl, and b\vt for the timely discovery of the blaze by a gentlemen in the street, it is highly probable the hotel arid the adjoining buildings would have been' destroyed. This affords another instance of the insecurity of the town and of the careless manner in which heating apparatus is placed in inflammable buildings. There are perhaps scores of houses liable at .any .moment to fire from the dangerous proximity of stove pipes to the wood work. We would impress upon all householders to take warning from the escape we have"referred to, and be particular in protecting the fhies of their stoves as much «s possible from the woodwork. We should imagine that it will have the effect of hurry, ing the inhabitants in the formation of a lire brigade, and weave pleased to learn that the public subscription" for this purpose is progressing favorably. The Nelson Colonist of the 29th says that that Burgess has made further disclosures, one of which is to name the storekeeper in Cobden they had intended to stick up. Always avoiding implicating Kelly and Levy he says that himself and Sullivan had laid, wait for Mr James Wilkie (son of Mr W. Wilkio, of Nelson) and who often travelled between his store and the North Beach. The road there is close to the bush, and a man could be stopped and murdered with the greatest ease On the occasion when Mr Wilkie was laid in wait for it happened he had gone another road, one recently finished, and it .appears, that when he went by the thick bushed road he -was cautious enough knowing that there were loose characters about, to choqse a time when the tide allowed of his riding into the surf, thus leaving a considerable distance between himself and the bush. His escape was providential, and the fact shows that had these men remained only a. little longer on the' West Coast many more murders would have been committed. The business of the Resident Magistrate's^ Court will in future be carried on in the new Court House. The^ building will be open- to the public on Monday. The Rev. Mr Hail, -a Presbyterian clergyman from Christchurch, will preach in the' Religious Institution Room, Gresson jstreet. to-morrow, in the morning at eleven o'clock, afld in the evening at.half-past six. ' Pievious to his departure from Greymouth Dr Foppoly presented a report to the Hospital Committee, in which he gives a return of the number and description of the cases admitted for treatment. Dr Foppoly assumed the temporary management of the Hospital on the 3rd of May^and the report is made up from that date up till the 25th August. The number of patients in the Hospital on the 3rd May was 18', and from that date to the 25th August 37 had been admitted, the whole comprising the following cases : — Typhoid" fever, s ll ; bilious fever, 4; rheumatism, 9; bronchitis, 3 ; pneumonia, 2 ; dementia, 2 ; dysentery, 1 ; cystitis, 1 ; jaundice, 1 ; angina aouta, 1 ; optjialmia, ljepalitis, 1; f avus gangrenosus, 1 ; syphilis, 2; concussion of the brain, 2 ; fracture of clavicula, 1 ; fracture of the arm, 2; fracture of the femur,^; wounds, 9. Of this number 35 were discharged cured; there were 4 deaths (2 from typhoid and 1- from bilious fever), and one patient committed suicide. r ' Adding the* outdoor patients to the number treated within the building, the total number of patients under Dr Foppoly's charge was 100. On the 25th August only 12 patients remained in the Hospital. This report is highly satisfactory, first, in shoeing that "there is a diminution

in the an>ount of fever, and secondly, in proving the successful treatment pursued in the Hospital. Dr Foppoly, expresses the - opinion that typhoid and bilious fevers have almost entirely disappeared since I;he winter season set in, " which fact confirms 'the theory on malaria during the summer season, and the -necessity of the people adopting all the sanitary measures repeatedly suggested by the resident professional men and by the local press." Speaking of the Hospital, he says, "Through the efficient and zealous exertions of the Committee, the Hospital is now in excellent order." We may add that the Committee have been most highly satisfied with Dr Foppoly management, and that it is their intention to forward him a testU rilonial of their appreciation of his services. The Wed Coast Times, of Thursday, re* portsv a melancholy case of suicide which . occurred* at Gillespie's Beach, Okarita, re. cently, the victim being a miner named Charles Fitzgerald, a native of Limerick, who stabbed himself in the abdomen with a sheath knife. Death was not instantaneous, as he lingered several hours afterwards, and in the meantime, in answer to questions, stated that he dreamed somebody was stabbing him, and on awakening found that he had done so inadvertently. He afterwards contradicted himself, and complained that -his head was wrong and that life was a -burden to him. The unfortunate man died at 10 p.m. the same night. There being no coroner for the district, tlie police held an enquiryupon the body, and the conclusion arrived at was, that . the deceased had committed suicitlo. His remains were decently , interred by his mates and others. The fishing season"" has now fairly com* menced, and some good hauls have within the last few days been Obtained in the river and lagoon. Whitebait is unusually plentiful •and can be caught in bushels oif the quay at the proper time of tide. Some fine patiki or fiat fish have been captured in the river, Borne of them of considerable size. Mullet have been seen, and a stray herring or two have 'heralded the arrival, of this excellent fish in our waters. There has been some capital sport' for the gun, pigoons and kakas being very plentiful. Wild fowl, however, appear to have been scarce, but very few have been seen in the places that used formerly to be .frequented by widgeon and teal. The delightful weather, that has now set in makes a shooting excursion in the bush most .enjoyable, and as the birds are both plentifil and in capital -condition,, there should be no lack of sportsmen. - . " ~ We noticce that our Hokitika contemporary, the West Coast Times; has got into hot water with Mr Bartlett, the manager of the Prince of Wales Theatre, owing to its having -indulged in -criticisms, derogatory to the character of the company and the management of the theatre. An action for libel is on t'je tapis, and the i r >prietor of the.papir, *Mr"William Sh.aw, has admitted his responsibility for the criticisms which have form' d the ground of quarrel. Our contemporary in Thursday's issue vindicates the course it' has pursued, and adds, that for the future the voice of criticism as regards the performances in the Prince of Wales Theatre will be sil«nt in its columns. . At the Resident Magistrate'^ Court, Greymouth, yesterday, Thomas Cox 5 for assaulting the police while in the execution of their duty, -was sentenced to one week's imprisonment. A man named Sanders was fined 10s and costs for removing gravel from Boundary street. James Johnston was summoned .for. using threatening language to one Harris, and Avas bound over to keep thepeace. The following, with reference to the case of the prisoner Bertrand,. N is taken from the Sydney Empire, of the 17th August: — "Our readers will remember that, in Bertrand's case, after his conviction of the murder of Henry Kinder, his execution was stayed on appeal to the judges of the Suprenie Court, on the ground that the reading of the evidence given at the first trial upon the secoikl trial, Wcis .illegal. Notice was then given by the Attorney-General of his intention to apply to the Privy Council, for leave to appeal against the decision of the Supreme Court. We learn that the Government have received by the mail just arrived, a tcl-agrani from London,- dated June 30, in which it is stated that in the case Rcgina v. Bertrand, leave has been granted by the Privy Council to appeal, .and that in the meantime all proceedings here are to be stayed. The decision, we presume, will debar any further application 'being made for the prisoner's discharge under the Habeas Corpus Act." • . , < N We.notice that the. prisoner De Lacy, who has. been for a long time in custody on a charge of conspiring to murder Mr E. B. Fox, and been remanded several times, has been again remanded until the seventh of September. . . - - • . . - V A return of. the cost of Provincial Governments throughout the"*" colony, recently laid before the Houses of Assembly, gives the following results : — Auckland^ 153 officials, einploj'ed at a cost of L 22.602 14s 9d ;' Taranaki, '22 officials, cost L 4; 772; Hawke's Bay, 25 officials, coat Lo, 110; Wellington, 76 officials, cost L 15,017 9s ; Nelson, 45 officials, cost L 8,301 15s ; Marlborough, 9 official?, cost L 2.070; Canterbury, 74 officials, cost- L 21.53 3; Otago, 123 officials, cost L 38.535 ; Southland, 31 officials, cost L 6.460/ The yearly cost of 554 officials "under the Provincial Governments is L 124,709 18s 9d, The WcsfrCoast Times of 'yesterday states that the question as to whether Sullivan?*f Burgess's gang is identical with the Sullivan formerly connected with them in Otago has been set at rest, the Otago Sullivan having only on Thursday last been discharged from custody in the>Hokitika gaol, where he has undergone a month's" imprisonnient for larceny. Our contemporary says the police are positive of his being th&man. ' The Wellington correspondent of the Lyttelion Times, says; — "Sir David Monro, Speaker of the Honorable House, has been summoned to appear at the Magistrates Court at Picton,- on the 3rd of September; to answer a claim of Mr Arthur Beauchamp, also a, member of the. - Honorable Hoivsc,J:or ten

and six pence.' Now, is Mr Speaker to be placed in the dilemma, or trilemma, between — 1. Abandoning his duties in the Honorable House ; 2. Suffering himself to. be cast in the suit with costs, and" perhaps to have . -his person attached ; 3. Paying- the 10s 6d? The Honorable House thinks not,- searches -for precedents, finds that members |of Parliament used in olden lime to be' exempt Trom being impleaded in any civil suit, but. that now they are amenable to the higher courts, declares that members of this Honorable House should be protected during session | time against all Civil Courts of the colony, and ocders a bill to.be brought in accordingly. In the meantime', Mr Speaker is to write a letter to the Resident Magistrate at. Picton, directing the suit of Beauchamp v. Monro to De postponed till after session. If the court and the plaintiff are willing, this will settle the matter. If not, a great deal of-troublc may be given ; for in order to justify the. letter of the Speaker, his fight' to interferes, in other words, the existence of privilege will have to be proved before the Supreme Court; and the' courts are not likely to interpret too liberally the" privileges of another-* "body which limit their own. You see that the higest constitutional questions may be raised concerning the ownership of half-a-guihea." , The following congratulatory messages on the completion of v the Cook Straits cable have passed between- His Excellency the Governor and the Superintendent of Canterbury :— " The Governor of New Zealand con- ' gratulates the 'Superintendent and inhabitants of the province of Canterbury on. the establishment of the telegraphic communita" tion between the two islands of New Zeu" land." ' "To his Excellency the- Governor, Wellington :— The Provincial Government; of Canterbury desires to reciprocate His Excellency's congratulations on tke establish-^ meut of telegraphic communication between the two islands. H. J. Ta Jf creed, Pres. Ex. Council." The Otago Daily Times, of the 2Gth inst.,' - gives currency to a rumor that gold has been discovered somewhere near Timaru oil the Otago side of the range. . The Otago miners do ntlt appear" to be unanimous oh the question of .transferring, the control, of the gold fields to the Geneial Government. It will be -remembered that ivot long ago a Large meeting was held at,the Nevis, at which resolutions in favor of General Government .management were passed; We now learn that the miners at Tuapeka are of quite a different opinion, judging by " the following resolutions passed at a recent meeting at Lawrance :— "That. in the opinion of this -meeting, on every occasion when the gold fields' interests have been submitted to the General Assembly, they have exhibited^ gross ignorance thereof, and any alteration in the management, of the gold fields, by removing the charge of office /from the Pro.vincial to the General Government will be found most disastrous to the whole mining comniuninity. .That a. Committee be appointed to draw..up and obtain signatures to a memorial, protesting against the removal of- the management of the gold fields into the hands of the General Fovernment." We take the following > from the Westlanil Obsei-ver,: — "Hunt, of Bruce Bay notoriety, has, apparently, an ambition of becoming yet more notorious and more obnoxious in the eyes of th,e mining population. Not content with being tho. cause of . the , disastrous rush which succeeded his application for a prospecting claim in April last, he has lately iiuluced a party to leave Southland for the neighborhood of the locality to which that rush was directed, promising that he would join them, and take them to the ground, but this promise Tie has never fulfilled, though a number of weeks have elapsed, and the party are beginning to realise that they have been the dupes of, their own credulity and his meaningless and heartless designs. The .party '■ left Riverton in a -craft known as /'Black Sam's ' cutter, for the Pareka, to the southward of- Bruce Bay, and about ten weeks ago, they arrived there, getting safely into the stream. -They brought with them a sufficient supply of provisions and tools, and had made .up their minds to remain ■there until they should be joined by Hunt, who promised to reach the place by an entirely different route. During their stay they have been very careful to conceal their presence in the Pareka, and the object of their mis-' sion; and, on every/ o'eca'sidn of visiting - Bruce Bay, have kept tne utmost secrecy as to their abiding place or the ;, information they had received. Several, to whom the secret was confided, have visited Okarita, but they have wisely refrained from commu-" ideating information as to the vessel having, arrived, being doubtful as to the sincerity of Hnnt, and by no means sure that, if the story got abroad, there would not .igain be a disposition to rush to the locality. The parties themselves, relying upon Hunt's good faith, remained hopeful, and they still continue to;retain the vessel -in th<e ; river, waiting his arrival ; but- others, who have a better knowledge of Hunt's personal char? acter and,, previous proceedings, have concluded that his. representations have been false, aud that ike men have beerr-causelessly seduced into ihis trip, and its attendant expenße_and:loss of time. They allege that the ■vicinity \>f Bruce Bay. has been more thoroughly prospected than ever it could have been by Hunt, and that nothing has been disccrered in the interior to_ warrant the hopti which this party entertained, or the hope entertained by any others that Hunt's story would yet prove true."