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Grey River Argus, Volume IV, Issue 259, 10 September 1867, Page 2

The Gift Auction in aid of the Church of England Building Fund, commences this evening, in the stores lately, occupied by Nathan and Co. in Werita street. The catalogue with which Mr Maclean, the officiating auctioneer, will endeavor to tempt purchasers, comprises a vast variety of articles useful and ornamental, which, in the' words of the immortal George Robins, " are too numerous to mention." We have no doubt that there will be a laudable amount of emulation amongst. the bidders, and that' the result of this "new vray td pay old debts " will enable the Building Committee to wipe off the remaining debt on the. building. Elsewhere we publish the account furnished by the local paper of the nev,- rush to the Mohikinui. From a gentleman who ha 3 just returned from the Buller, and who, prior to his departure, paid a visit to Mohikiuui, we •have derived a few additional items, which will, no doubt, interest our readers. There is no doubt whatever that a very considerable rush of population has taken place to Mohikinui, and it appears likely that the resources of the district will fully justify the expectations formed.- Tho. country is described as consisting of a series of terraces similar to those which, further south; have proved so rich in gold. The grduml is densely covered with bush, but otherwise presents no special physical difficulties. r Lhere is said to be a large extent of country resembling that where the first discovery of gold has been made, and as the port is a good and accessible one, it is probable an important township may spring up there. There is no bar to the harbor, the entrance being between high bluffs, and is sometimes fordable at low water. At high tide there is from seven to ten feet of water in the harbor, and the anchorage is sheltered. Coal of good quality exists in abundance a short distance up the river, attempts to work which have been made by Batty and Co., but owing to the expensive works'l'equired in the shape of roads and bridges, they were compelled to give up the under-taking. There is an excellent road along the beach from Westport on hard sand. Great excitement has naturally been caused by this new discovery, and large bodies of miners are leaving the Buller daily. The piling for the riyer bauk protection is fasfc approaching completion, there being only about a score of piles yet to be driven. The work has necessarily been protracted by the long continuance of bad weather, but so far it has been very efficiently performed. When completed, the port of Greyn,outh will possess a quay, which for extent and appearance is not surpassed in the colony. It remains doubtful whether this faced embankment will have the effect of deepening the water in-shore. At present craft have to lay out a considerable distance, and discharge their cargo over gangways. Still, it is possible that the clear run now. given to the current may caush the river to wash away the shingle and thus deepen the channel. At the wharf the water has deepened considerably lately, owing, probably, to the greater number of vessels that have moored alongside, and so enabled the current to scour the shingle from under their bows. On the other hand, we are informed that the channel alongside the Cobden Coal Wharf has seriously shallowed, so much so as to almost prevent vessels, except of very light draught loading there. The.beds of rivers such as the Grey are subject to so many fluctuations that engineering calculations are almost entirely rendered useless, the only plan being so to accommodate the works required so to take the best ad vantage, of existing circumstances. With reference to the recently discovered case of murder, the Westport Times of Saturday says : — Every exertion is being made by the police to bring the murderer or murderers of the unfortunate unknown to justice, but as yet, we are sorry to say, no clue has been obtained to the perpretators of the atrocious deed. The difficulty has arisen entirely through the want of identification, for although fully three hundred persons have viewed the body, not one has been able to identify the deceased.. On Thursda}', some persons came down from the Mohikinui, thinking, from the description forwarded there, that they knew the man. The corpse had been buried on the day of the inquest and it was necessary to exhume it, which was at once do^e } but though \n many respects like the supposed man, a d,eep scar on the

thumb was nou on deceased, and consequently no identity could be proved. At present the whole affair is shrouded in deepest mystery j but, as we are tpld j;hat murder will out, we hope the murderous scoundrels concerned in this one will, ere long, be captured and rewarded according tq their deserts. Since the above was in type, a rumor is current and probable that the clothes of the deceased and other articles have been found buried within fifty yards of where the body was discovered. Detective Lambert and several other expert e,nced officurs qxe pn tqe track, and there is every hope that justice may yet be done. A special meeting of the Annexation Committee was held Last night. There was a good attendance of members, and Mr De Qosta took the phair. The Secretary read a letter he had received from the Provincial Secretary at Nelson, intimating* that the Executive of that Province regarded the proposed Annexation scheme favorably, ' and would countenance any equitable arrangement for effecting the object, A. discussion arose as to the terms of the petitions to be presented to the House of Assembly, and the Petition Cotnmittee arranged t» meet on Wednesday evening to prepare the documents. It was resolved that in the mean, time steps be taken to sepure signatures in favor of Annexation, papers for which pur' pose will be circulated to-day or to-morrow. The Subscription . Committee will also commence operations to T day. We learn from the New Zealand Hansard that the Government intend bringing in a Bill to Consolidate and Amend the Law Relating to Juries, and that in it ia a provision for paying mileage to jurcrs. A motion has been carried in the House of Representatives "That a return be laid on the table of the House of the number of cases heard before the several Resident Magistrates and Wardens on each of the gold fields of the Colony, from the 30th June, 1866, to the 30th June, 1867." The object of the motion is the reduction of the number of Magistrates and Wardens in certain districts. The West Coast Tiima of yesterday says : —We understand that the Separation petition will be forwarded by the Phcebe to-morrow, forpresentation to both Houses of the General Assembly. The sheets at present received contain upwards of 2500 names. It has been determined by the Council of the League to entrust the petition to the Legislative Council to the Hon. J. Hyde Harris for presentation, and that to tho House of Representatives to the Hon. E. W. Stafford, the Premier. Each copy will be accompanied by a letter explaining the reasons for these gentlemen being requested to take charge of the petitions. A separate memorial will be forwarded to his Excellency Sir George Grey.