Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume IV, Issue 271, 8 October 1867, Page 2

We again call the attention of our readers to the. opening of the Bazaar in aid of ,jthe Wesleyan Church Building Fund, which takes place to-morrow afternoon. It will be • continued in the Religious Institution Rooms during the three following days and evenings ; and we trust that the attendance will be such as to meet the most sanguine wishes of the promoters of the Bazaar. JBy a recent Panama paper we see that the agents of the Panama Company have received information that the telegraph between New York aud Panama would be completed within a fortnight from that date, and that consequently New Zealand wjuld then be within twenty-eight days' communication with England. An extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders of the Greymouth and Saltwater Tramway Company is called for Tuesday, the 15th inst., for the purpose of considering the - present condition of the line. At a meeting of members of the M.U.1.0.0.F., held last evening, at Hunt's Club Hotel, it was resolved that the new lodge, under the ..name of the Loyal Grey, mouth Lbdge, shall be opened on the even, ing of Tuesday, the 15th inst., by a grand supper at the United States Hotel. It is *hoped that all members of the Order will see frapheir duty to be present on the occasion. Our neighbors in Hokitika have proceeded in earnest and without loss of time to take into consideration the monstrous proposition carried by Mr Moorhouse in Committee of the House of Representatives in regard to the allocation of the permanent debt of the province. Whenever the news became .known an urgency meeting of the Separation League was called on Thursday afternoon, and the following telegram sent to the Honorable E. W. Stafford.:— "On receipt of telegram this morning, a special meeting of the League was held, and reso. lutions carried to the following effect :— Mr Moorhouse's amendment condemned as unjust in the highest degree to Westland. Determination to use all means in our power to reverse Moorhouse's policy next session. Can you make Westland seat vacant on new Bill coming, into operation, or have short Bill ? Public meeting called liere to consider.

his conduct as representative of Westland. On the afternoon of the same day a public meeting, convened by the league, was held at the .Prince of Wales Opera JJouse, and although the weather was most unfavorable for it rained in torrents, and there was little opportunity of publfc advertisement, nearly a thousand persons were present, the pit. of the theatre being crowded . The f ollowiuj| resolutions were proposed aud carried unanimously :--" That this meeting- desires v to express its cordial thanks to the Hon. E..W. Stafford, Esq., the Hoa. J. Hall, Esq.y aud the Hon. Major Richardson, for the measures they have promoted to give effect to the prayer of the petition of the inhabitants pf Westland for Separation from the Province of Canterbury." "That this meeting ap^ proves oF the general provisions of the Bill, intituled •An Act to establish the County of*^ Westland,' relying fully upon the intentions of his Excellency's ' advisers to give such effect to them as will fully secure to Westland the advantages of self-government, meaning thereby the control of its revenues and the r-espqnsible administrate ye management of it 3 affairs." "That in "the opinion of this meeting, a gross injustice has been done to the district of Weatland by the anie-.dirient carried in committee of the House of Representatives at the instance of Mr Moorhousi, making the future County of Westland liable for a proportion of the permanent debt of the province, equal to its proportionate customs revenue, thus heavily taxing this district for the repayment of loans, .from which it has derived no advantage whatever, for the relief ■-■. • of a district at whose hands it has received • nothing but uniform injustice. That, never« theless, this meeting feels it to b« a matter o! such imperative necessity that the district} of Westland should be at once freed from the domination of Christchnrch, that it is willing, for the present, to submit to the injurious conditions imposed at the hand of MrlMbor-i house, in the firm assurance that the House of .Representatives, in a fuller sitting during the ensuing session., will take necessary steps to repair the wrong now inflicted." "That William Sef ton Moorhouse, Esq., nominally the representative of Westland in the General Assembly, hag grossly abused the confidence reposed in him by the electors of this district . and betrayed the interests <>f his constituents' " .That he has afforded unmistakeable proofs that his political sympathies are not identified with Westland, ard that in the opinion of this meeting he should be called on by public memorial at once to resign his seat ." " That the withdrawal from the Provincial Council of Canterbury of the five representatives' for Westland, consequent upon the passing of the County of Westland Bill, and the entire dependence of the district' pn. the legislation of the Qeneral Assembly demands an increased representation for Westland in the Colonial Parliament." " That copies of these resolutions be forwarded by the chairman of this meeting to the Hon, E t W. Stafford, Esq., J Cplonia* Secretary, and to his Hpnpr W. L, . fs Moorhouse, Esq., M.H.R." '.''/. MrMoorhouse, M .H.R. for Westland, -was y burni in 'effigy, in Holhtikaj on FriiTay'~evening, opposite the City Theatre in Weld street. Nearly two thousand persons took part inahM proceeding, which created much exciterelS^ and amusement in the town. '. The figure was first carried in procession through BeveH '-. street, preceded by a fife and drum band playing the tf Rogue's MarQh," carried to tho i . place of execution, hanged upon a gallows, \l and then burnt in a tar barret amidst the I groans and execrations of the crowd. v We are glad, to hear that a friendly match at cricket has been arranged between eleven, players of Hokiti.ka, and Greyinputh. A special meeting of the Greyniouth Club is called for to-inorrpw evening at the Albion, Hotel, %q arrange the preliminaries of the match, and to transact other business. The following account of another fatal accident is given by our Hokitika contenK porary : — A singular accident, that Ye are sorry to sa.y terminated fatally, happened in the Waiinea district on Thursday. It appears that; a miner named Alexander Riddle, who was living on the main lead, 4th Scandinavian Terrace, had occasion to. cut down a tree'that stood upon his claim. Just as he had finished the first cut, a dead limb fell and Btruck the back of his head and neck, prostrating the poor fellow on. the ground, but without pro* ducing insensibility. The blow, however, must have caused internal hemorrhage, as he vouiiced a large quantity of blood and: died in about twenty minutes, nearly an hour before the arrival of Dr Johnson; who had been hurriedly summoned from Stafford Town by the deceased man's mates. The body was afterwards conveyed to Stafford Town. .We understand that Riddle was; a native of ~ Scotland. '-'■'■ „:L With slight intermissions of sunshine, the weather during the last few days has. been very squally—bringing up heavy hail and rain-storms from the north-west and. west These smart falls of rain have swollen the river again, and yesterday the freshet ran *< very strong, but as the weather was fair'the^^S better part of yesterday, the flood is expecb^^^P to subside before morning, and : jfet^^^^^ communication with the up-river be resumed, which has been interrupt^^^^^| some days by the floods. '^vsj/Sm The following is the division-list in the j§| House of Representatives on the- questioi^^C that the Westland County Bill be xzt&j&T second time :— Ayes, 27— Messrs A. S. Aijla- " son, Ball, Bradshaw, Campbell, Carpion, Cox, Farmer, Fitzherbert, Hall, Hankinson, Haughtpn, Jpllie, Kerr, Ludlam, T. Macfar- ~ r lane, M'Lean, M'Neil, Murison, J. O'Neill. Paterson, Potts, J. C. Richmond, Stafford (teller), Stevens, Tancred, Wilson, -Wjood. Noes, 20— Messrs Baigent, Borlase, Brandon, Dignan, Eyes, r Featherston, G. Granim, R. Graham, Hull, Macandrew (teller); G; Mac- ' farlari, Main, Moorhouse (teller), Parker, Reynolds, Studholme, Taylor, 'YogeV^clls, Williamson. Commenting on this result, 1 the • New Zealand Times of the Ist instant says : — " On a division of" 27 to 20, the BUI for erecting the Westland district into a county was passed in the House of Representatives last night. Though it was nnderstood that Mr Moorhouse would no longer offer— to use r m

the term in vogue— any factious opposition to » the.ißill, the advocates and supporters of local government could not be quite assured of success until the second reading was actually got over. There will probably be . alterations in committee, but nothing short of an actual rejection of the Bill at a future A stage will now deprive the Westland people ?J^f of a fair and ample satisfaction of the demands they make for the administration of their own affairs, and the expenditure of their own revenues. Without any desire to exult; on r S the victory obtained last night, we think there is good cause to rejoice at the progress —nay, the gigantic strides that the cause which is constantly advocated by the party with whose views we heartily agree, ha 3 made during the last fortnight, ami at the recognition in so practical a form which local administration has obtained in the Legislature." There Avas no business transacted at the Resident Magistrate's Court ou Saturday. The Bench was yesterday occupied for the first time by Matthew Pries, Esq., R.M., in room of our Ite3ideut Magistrate, Mr'lJevelli who, we believe, has obtained leave of ab. eence for one month. It will be remembered that Mr Weld (the late Premier of New Zealand) met with an accident on the occasion of his embarking for home. Information has been received by the mail that the accident has proved even more - perious than it at first appeared, as the small btne cf the foot is broken j and although the injury is being treated by an eminent London surgeon, still gives Mr Weld great pain and inconvenience. We sincerely hope that fnrRecounts from him will bring news of his. recovery. • In the Goldiields Act Amendment Bill (No. 2) two clauses introduced during the passage of the Bill through the House of Representatives were struck out in committee in the Legislative Council. The clay scs were the 7th and the IGth. The first allowed of agricultural areas of 100 acres each being taken up instead of 50 acres only as at present, and the other clause deprived the Wardens' Courts of their equity jurisdiction, and made them strictly courts of law. - Another melancholy case of death by drowning has occurred on the coast, at the fording-place of the Wainini Riv,er. The victim iv this case is Mr Taylor, a Canterbury runholder. The factsof the inelaucholy event are thus stated by the West Coast Times :— lt appears that Messrs Taylor, M'Farlane, and M'Leod, three Canterbury station-holders, left Hokitika on Wednesday morning on their return to the Ghristchurch side of the dividing range. They were well mounted, and reaohed the Kangiriri station that evening. From what we can gather, it seems that Mr M'Farlane was a mile, or two in advance of his friends, as he passed the station half an hour before them. They left it between seven and eight o'clock, and after a three-mile ride arrived at the Wainini, which appeared to be greatly swollen, but as Mr M'Farlane waa not in sight, it was presumed that he had crossed the river, mid, therefore, without hesitation, the two „^-Plunjged in at the fording-place, Mr 'M'Leod' v%Bfbeing slightly in advance. His horse immcr diately begati to swim, and, on reaching midstream, siiuk from under the rider, who, after a desperate struggle for life, gained the opposite bank of the river. Safe on shore, his first impulse was to look round for his companion, who was no where to be seen, and fearing the wotst, Mr M'Leod hurried down the river in search of him, but could • find no trace of either horse or man. He continued his search for several hours, and at last arrived at a place where some people were camped, and there met Mr Greyille, of the Taipo. Being quite exhausted, Mr M'Leod stayed there during tho remainder of the night, and yesterday morning resumed the search, accompanied by Mr Greville. They proceeded up the river again, and in an eddy of the stream not more than one hundred yards below the ford that was crossed on the previous night, the body of poor Mr Taylor was discovered — life, of course, being quite extinct. Assistance having been procured, it was conveyed to the Raugiriri station, and on Friday was brought to Hokitika by Mr M'Leod, who also brought the pleasing intelligence that Mr M'Farlane had escaped tho fate which it was thought had befallen him, having been heard of at <* Bob's" Accommodation House, about ten miles from the Wainini River, We have a piece of novel intelligence fiom Mokihinui that the township there Las been visited by a whirlwind, which caused great destruction of property, but, fortunately, no lives were lost, although there were many narrow escapes. The wind appeared to come from the sea, and working in a circle through the township, went off to sea again, Its force must have been something terrific, as ' • it up-rooted trees and stores, and scattered , their contents far and wide. The stores of' Mr M. Levy and Mr Hammond are mentioned as among those destroyed. Cases of goods were blown about like straws, and it is said that a heavy case of hams landed in the store of a gentleman well known in this town, and that he not only asserted his "to stick to it," but did so. Some cases of goods were actually carried across the river. It is a'blcssing that these visitations do not occur very frequently, or we Ss. might any morning find some of our flimsy new rush townships completely " wiped ' out." In the Resident Magistrate's Couit yesterday, before M. Price, Esq.. R.M., John Davidson was charged, on the information of Ellen Williams, with stealing a L5-note from her husband's store, on the North Beach, on the 2nd instant. The evidence of the prose, cutrix was to the effect that the prisoner and James White were in her store arranging some monetary affairs. Prisoner wanted L 5 from White, who offered him L 2 10s, but this the prisoner refused to take. White was due a bill in the store and gave theproseoutrix aLs?note, expecting to get back "as change about L2 l4s. He had other notes ' in his hand, at which the prisoner made a " gnatch, but missed them. He then took the L5-note off the counter from under Mrs , WjlliaWs hand, saying —_" If you won't

give me my money, I'll take this." White told her that he would look to her for the balance, and slit had asked the prisoner to give her the note, but he refused to do so. Corroborative evidence was led at some length, and Mr Perkins (from Mr Tyler's office) addressed the Beueh in favor of tho prisoner. The Magistrate said this was one of those cases which so frequently occur, where one party had a claim against another for money, and when he found that he could not quietly obtain his own, he sized upon whatever property came within his reach to ; reimburse himself. Tln3 was very wrong— j might was not right— but it was for him to enquire whether this came within the definition of a larceny— whether there was the intention of taking away for thfi purpose of appropriating to himself what was not his own. He did not think that the possession of the money had passed from White to the proseeutrix ; neither was he of opinion that there was in the case any intent to steal. He thought the parties ought to have proceeded for the recovery of the money on -the civil side of the Court. But he wished, it to be clearly tmderstood that the prisoner did what was very wrong, but he could understand it, for the parties appeared to hav° been drinking in a shanty, and to have been all in a violent passion when tLe affair took place. He would dismiss the case. The nomination of candidates to fill the nine vacancies in the Hokitika Corporation took place on Saturday at noon. The affair seems to have caused great excitement* there being eighteen candidates nominated. The names yf these gentlemen are as follows : — James Russell Anderson, James John Bartlett, Samuel Boyle, James Browne, Charles Edward Button, Michael Cassius, Francis L. Clarke, John Cross, Robert Ecclcsfi«ld, James Midgley Higgin, James M'Beath, Thomas Muuro, G. A. Patcrson, Evan Prosser, William Robinson, William Sliaw, William Swanson, Edwin Tayler. The election takes place on Thursday next. We see from the Parliamentary report of the Ntib Zealand Times "that the House practically decided in the affirmative on Mr Moorhouse's motion for placing on the estimates a sum of LSSOO for the Marine Suivay of the West Coast of the Middle Island. The resolution lias to be reported to-day, and from the general feeling of members in it 9 favor we do not imagine aiiy impediment will now be thrown in the way of its adoption. The means will thus be afforded for carrying put one of the most useful works the Government could undertake, and one which we have strongly supported in these columns. Apart from the consideration of the life and property protected by the establishment of a correct survey of the West Coast, its immediate effect will, no doubt, be a large reduction in the rate of insurance on vessels trading to the" important settlements of Greymouth and Hokitika." Mr Harrison, the delegate from Greymouth to Wellington in charge of the Annexation petition, left for Christchurch yesterday morning by Cobb's coach, whence he will proceed to Wellington by steamer. He was compelled to proceed by this roundabout route in consequence of the Airedale having passed the port without calling, and tho delay which ,was likely to occur before another opportunity would present itself of reaching Wellington by steamer from this port. It was thought that Parliament would be prorogued to-day, and that our delegate's mission was almost useless ; but it will be seen from the- telegraphic despatch published elsewhere that an unexpected contretempslins occurred in the shape of a dead-lock between the. two Houses of Assembly, on the Public Debts Act. This will delay the rising of - Parliament indefinitely, and, it is to be hoped, enable Mr Harrison to reach Wellington in time for the presentation of the Annexation petition. Early yesterday a telegram was sent to the Hon. J. Richmond by the chairman of the Annexation Committee, announcing the departure of the petition, and enquiring whether or not it would be in time, to which the following reply was received: — "Edward Masters, Esq., Greymouth—Assembly may be prorogued in two •or three days ; time still uncertain. Committee need not be uneasy. Question of future position of the Grey, Teremakau District, not concluded by Westland Bill, and will not be prejudiced by their accepting funds and Road Board organisation in the meantime. — J. C. Richmond."