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Grey River Argus, Volume IV, Issue 285, 9 November 1867, Page 2

The attention of the members of the Wesleyan Congregation ip cable/} k> an announcemont in another column calling a meeting lor Monday evening, at the Religious Institution Rooms, at eight o'clock. On Thursday evening a few of the personal friends qf Mr A. Macfarjand met for the purpose of presenting to that gentleman a gold -watch as a parting gift, and as a token of their regard aud esteem . The presentation wap, accompanied by the most heartfelt expressions of regret at Mr Macfarland's approaching departure, and the most earnest and sincere wjshes for his future happiness and success. Elsewhere we publish the County of West, land Act as finally passed by the Legislature. It will be seen that there have been several important amendments on the original Bill, We liave received information from the Nelson police authorities at Cobdon that the body of a male child, perfectly nude, was picked up on the Seven-rinile Beach yesterday. The body was that of a full strong child, about six years of age, bair dark, but no peculiar marks to indicate its ideutity. The police on the other side have no report Qf a.ny child answering the description of the body having been. lost, nor has anything come under the knowledge of the Greymouth authorities. We have l\a.d submitted far oar inspection a series oi photographic views of the town qf Greymouth as it appeared duringVnd after the flood of Wednesday. They have been executed by Mr Low, and are excellent si:ar cimeas of the art of photography, aud will form interesting mementoes of the late disaster. The man Carroll, charged with the murder of M'Grath, in a h.onae of ill-repute, .at Brighton, after a 2engt2iened enquiry before Mi Broad, was foundguilty of manslaughter and committed f or~trial. """""* We learn from the Westport Evening Star, of Wednesday, that Mr Commissioner Kynnersley had a narrow escape from drowning i | in crossing one of the rivers between Mokihinui and the Buller. i One of the female immigrants by the ship 1 Cissy ()aie}y arrived in Nelson), of the name of Catherall (onegfetwo sisters of the sam« name) lately exhibweH symptoms of insanity, and was taken to the Hospital. Last Friday evening, in a sudden fit she 2eap-3cl from the window of the room where she was to th~ ground, a height of some fourteen or fifteen feet, and escaped comparatively unhui-t. She was speedily recaptured, and next morning was taken before the lleaident Magistrate, and sent to the Lunatic Asylum. A ciicket match between two clubs of Hokitika and Greymouth takes place to-day |at Hokitika- The cricket ground is said to be in excellent condition, and some good play ' is expected. The Greymouth Club will be represented by the following players :— Mes&TS Bradley, F. Cohen, Buckingham, T. Croft, Jenner, F. W. Paul, Proctor, Raphael, Southern, Wright, and I. O'Donnell. VVe hope to be able to record that the victory has been gained by the Greymouth playpi'S. We regret to learn from a telegram in the Hckitika Evening Star that another serious fire occurred at ChristchurcJ? on Tuesday afternoon, and resulted in tfee distraction of the entire past wing of tie college. The damage is estimated a* LSOUO, of which amount L 2300 is covered by insurance. An advertisetuepii in another column announces thai a meeting of the subscribers io the Grey Rive' Hospital will be held on Monday next it 8 o'clock p.m., at Kilgour's Hotel, for. ihe purpose of electing a new Committee. We regret to learn that the Westland portion of the supplementary mail for Engla\<i via Panama has missed the steamer at ;tyttelton. A telegram published in another column states that the Hokitika coach had not arrived at Christchurch at half-past one o'clock yesterday, and that the Tararua had sailed. We are glad to notice Ihj increase that is taking place in the number of water races at Noble's Gully. On the lot instant two fine races were christened -with the wsaa) cere- \ mony and festivity by Mr Mackley, who performed the part of sponser in the absence of Mr Warden Lightband, who bad been incited but was unable to attend. The races are named the "Lightband Race," owned by Darling and party ; and the " Caledouian Race," owned by M'Kay and party. The spread of sluicing operations in this district is a very favorable sign of its condition. The public meeting which had been arranged to take place on Thursilay evening in the Religious Institute was so thinly attended that it was deemed advisable to adjourn it until Tuesday evening next. The subscribers to the Institute should not omit to be present as the business to be transacted! elates to the future disposal of the building. The Committea appear to think that the time has arrived for convening the building into a reading-room or flf ohanics' Institute, which was unfU'ubtedly^understood by the publL who subscribed jp be the ultimate purpose to which the building should be applied. Although, there isfco trust deed in existence,

and the trustees personally have the legal ■ right and title to the building, they wish to be guided entirely b} r the feelings of the sub' scribers, The building was intended originally to provide convenience for divine wopr ■ ship for every class of Protestants uutil the several denominations had erected buildings of their own j and then it was to be converted into a library and reading-^OQm, W e wnderstand. that the Wesleyan Church Committee are wishfyl to purchase the building, and it is worth while to consider whether it wonld j not be a good plan to sell the building to , ! them, and with the proceeds erect a more suitable structure in a more ponvenientlysituated part of the town. It would cost a good round sum to make the present building 1 fit for a readingrroorn. It would require to : be lined throughout, and other alterations would have to be made that would cost more money than the situation of the building would seem to warrant. Probably tho trustees would be able to realise as much by the sale of the present building aa would defray the cost of a more comfortable and , convenient room in. a central situation. The Wost Coast Thymes states that ihfebeaoh , at Hokitika is making up fast from south to i north, not only with sand but with exten. Sive beds of coarse shingle. The groin which i was recently laid down for the protection of , Moffat's right*ofrway is now pompletely , covered with shingle with the exception' of L the top of one of the pontoons forming it, { near the houses on the beach. The sapling , protection work .being laid down under the direction of the town surveyor is nearly com* ; pleted, and in many parts has a bed of shingle , formed afc the back. Even the fascines have done good, and have constituted a nucleus around wiich an extensivw lagoon of sand and shingle has formed. Large quantities ; of drift wood aud timber strew the beach, and. if not removed, will form a centre around which will cluster a natural protection from the inroads of the sea. The Christohnroh JPtqss, in an article urging an early meeting of the Provincial/ , Council, says : " There can be no question bhitb bhe affairs oi bhe province are in a y'ery alarming state. The fact that the overdraft at the Bank, which during the last session of the Council was. if we remembe/riglrt, reduced to about 70,000, has risen £oL) 30, 000, \ and is still increasing, is of itself enough to excite the utmost apprehension. It shows that the province is living beyond its means, and is forced to dr^W upon the loan to eke out its deficient revenue for mere every day expenses.. This state of affairs cannot be allowed to la? 4 a moment longer than is una^ voidable."/ A singular hut fafcal accident is related by our Hokitika contemporary to have happened to a packer named MAuley, whilst he was journeying with a loaded horse in the wretched track that leads from the beach to the Three-mile Creek township. He was walking behind the horse, when by some means a supple-jack, depending from a lofty tree, got entangled with the loading, and the horse, feeling the sudden check, commenced to plunge violently, and so broke one of the branches, a large piece of dead wood, which fell and struck MAuley between the shoulders. He fell and lay helplessly upon the ground without the power of moving hand or foot, and in that position was found by some packers, who took him into Hokitika to Ms residence in North Revell street. Drs. Young and Mourilliau were called in, and pronounced the man to be in great danger, his legs being "quite paralysed and his arms partially so. It see/is that the piece of wood struck the spintfl column and seriously injured it, tbuS causing paralysis. He died on the following day. We have Westport papers to the 7th inst. The Builer river has been flooded, but not bo so Jerions an extent as the Grey. A local journal says : — " From pvery place accounts reach us of the disastrous character of the flood— districts overflowed, tents and houses carried away, and the labor oi months in the shape of mining enterprise rendered useless. The flood reached its height on Wednesday, when the Buller resembled a torreut rather than a river, and it was feared that when it was high tide serious consequences would Tensue ; but fortunately it seemed not to make mujh perceptible difference in the bulk of the water, and after that time it subsided even quicker than it rose. When it was at its height the appearance of the river was something terrible. Huge trees came floating down the river, keeping the owners and agents of the various vessels ab anchor in a state of excitement lest damage should be done to the property they were interested in. Tiie recently erected wharfs stood fche test well, although frequent were the reports that Beauchamp's 'wouldn't stand, it,' or that the Woodpecker wharf ' was carried away.' Stanley wharf was severely tried, two large trees having fouled it, and it seemed almost impossible that it could stand the force < f the current, but fortunately no material injury was done to it.