Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume V, Issue 311, 11 January 1868, Page 2

We have a few items of news from up the river. The leport circulated a few days ago of a boat-accident at the Ahaura on the day of the last great flood turns out to have been quite without foundation. It is probable that the rumor owed its origin to the recent accident at Arahura. An incident has occurred at Maori Gully which appears to I have occasioned considerable interest in that Ideality, viz., the first birth of a child in the gully, a Mrs Costigan having presented her lord and master with a son. Owing to there being no medical man iv the district, a messoiiger had to be despatched to Greymouth ; but before his arrival, it became necessary to secure the services of Mrs Laugdon, of the Arnold ferry, who, with instinctive kindness, left her home to the care of her children and courageously walked from the ferry to Maori Gully in the dead of the night. A case of sudden .death is announced as having occurred at Italian Gully, a German ; having suddenly expired on the 27th December. Iviverton Gully, we learn, has been abandoned, owing, wobeh^e, to a split-up amongst the party working. We are informed that the track up to the Arnold is itill in a I very bad state, and that it is still blocked up by the trees felled by the contractors for supplying the piles for the bank protection at Greymouth. The two steam pile-driving machines engaged on the bank protection works were stopped during yesterday, in consequence of some derangement of the machinery. They are expected to be at work again to-day or Monday. We understand that the Clerk of the Works received orders a ilay or two ago to make up all the accounts in connection with the works and forward them to Hokitika. The proprietors of the Greymouth and Saltwater 1r unuay have again " taken heait ' of grace," and despite their heavy discouragements, have set to work to repair the damages caused by the late flood. The temporary stoppage of 'traffic alony the line has been productive of great inconvenience to the ' inhabitants of the .Saltwater district, and to tho.se whose business takes them thither, and we can only add our hopes to those of the proprietors of the line, that they may have a long term of success to compensate for the loss they have sustained. The telegrams in the Melbourne papers report fearful bush fires in South Australia. One of the 20th says :— " The heat yesterday was intense. The official report from the Observatory gives the greatest height of the thermometer at 157° iv the sun, and from 103° to 111" in the shade. The great heat was to be accounted for by the dryness of the atmosphere, as a thermometer placed in contact with a wet bulb indicated only 07°. In consequence of the heat and dryness of the I atmt sphere, some frightful bush tires have taken place, extending over large portions of the Gavvler, Light, and Stanley districts At Stockport 30 square miles of country were in a blaze. The crops have been burned up, stacks of hay destroyed, fences levelled, and farm houses reduced to ashes. At Clare also the country has been in flames, most extensive bush tires having raged all day. The whole of the Bundaleer run has been burnt up, and ono man on it burned to death. Many other places have suffered to a greater or less extent, and the total amount of the losses sustained cannot at present be estimated." We learn from the West Coast Times that letters have been received in Wellington, from Sir George Bo wen, explaining thereasons of the delay in his departure from Brisbane. It appears that his Excellency has not yet received the letters patent conferring on him his commission as Governor of New Zealand. Her Majesty was, as usual, rusticating in the Highlands when the November Panama mail left. No meeting of the Privy Council, to which the letters patent might be submitted, could be held, and consequently the departure of the next mail had to be waited for. Sir George Bowen expects to receive his commission by the Panama mail leaving Southampton on the 2nd Do' cembcr, which will be due in Sydney about

the 2oth inst. These letters verify the statement we were enabled to make on the 30 bh ult.,* to the eftect Jihat his Exceljenpy was not likely to arrive in Wellington until thp 7th or Sfsh of February. During the interim , Sir George Grey wi]^, continue 'to hold office, and we learn that he has received an intimation that it is desired he will not leave tfye colony until after the arrival of His Royal Highness the Duke qf Edinburgh,. We may infer fiom thjs circumstance that it is intended that Sir George Grey should not only receive the Prince at Wellington, but accompany him in tyis tour throughout the colony. It Ayill be remembered that some time agfj it was, stated that his Excellency had received autograph letters from Her Majesty requesting him to undertake this duty, and certainly no command on the part of the Queen could be a more fitting cqmpliment to be paid by his royal mistress, on the opcasion of his quitting the colony, to a public man who had rendered so many important services to the Crown. There may be some embarrassment occasioned by the presence of both a retiring and an incoming Governor during the Prince's visit. But it is a difficulty that may, no doubt, he easily adjusted. Considerable excitement is said to have been occasioned in the pastoral districts of Victoria by the announcement, in the telegrams of the English news that 20,000 ton s of Australian preserved meat had been spld iv London. It turns out, however, that through an error in the tiansmission of the telegram, the word tint had been converted into tons — a mighty difference. From a return courteously furnished to ns by the Postmaster of Greymouth, welearn that during the year 1867 the number of letters I received was 90,093, and of newspapers 41,598. The number of letters despatched was 90,318, of newspapers 25,720. The increase of letters passing through the postoffice inwards and outwards over the year 1566 was 76,193 letters, and 16,348 newspapers. During the year, 1293 money-orders, amounting to L 7012 Is lOd, were issued, and 177 ordors, amounting to L 933 7s 2d, paid. The attendance at the theatre last night, on the occasion of the benefit for the engine fund of the Fire Brigade, was not so large as wehad expected it would have been, although the stalls were well filled. The performance did not call for special remark. Miss Juno played with usual skill, and the various pieces passed off fairly. To-night is the last ap. pearauce »f the company, and the announcetLat Miss Juno will appear in the character of " Camille " should draw a full house. On Monday evening there will be an amateur performance in aid of the engine fund. The Grjymouth amateurs will no doubt on thi s o ;casion eolipse themselves ; one thing is curtain, they will " draw." At the sitting of the Westland District Court on Wednesday, Thomas Perry, charged with having stolen one L2O-note, one LlO--note, one L5-note, and, one gold ring, the property o( J. F. Curnow, Saltwater, was '. f. mid guilty and sentenced to 12 month's imprisonment with hard labor. We learn from the Dunedin Evening Star that the Superintendent of Otago has received a telegram to the effect that the Commissioners who were appointed to wait upon the i Duke of Edinburgh in Melbourne, and present the address inviting him to visit Otago, were graciously received, and that their mission was successful. Under the provisions of the Medical Practitioners Act, the Governor has nominated eight gentlemen as a Medical Board, to continue in office for five years ; the following are the names : — James Hector, M.D., presi-, dent ; Morgan Stanislaus Grace, M.D.; Leonard George Boor' M.E.C.S. ; Alexander Johnston, M.D. ; Thomas Moore Philson, M.D. ; Samuel Anthanasins Cusack, F.R.C.S.I. ; James Souierville Turnbull, M.D. ; Edward Hulme, M.D. The IVcstport Times of the 6th iust. says : — ' ' Good news continues to come in from the Caledonian Terrace, and now thatall the men have returned to work we have no doubt that we shall be able to report fresh discoveries in this the Ballarat of the West Coast. On Saturday afternoon a hole was bottomed oira new lead situate about a quarter of a mile north of the creek, and it yielded a prospect of one and a naif pennyweights to the dish. The sinking is about 60 feet, and all the ground along the supposed line has been taken up for nearly a mile, and from all appearances there is every probability of a rich back lead being traced, in addition to the new discovery reported last week, and which is trending northwards. Should this be the case, there will be distinct alluvial leads. Although pretty certain as to the result, we would *iot advise many more miners to visit the locality at present till more holes are bottomed, so that some definite result may be arrived at as to its capabilities for supporting a larger population." The last escort from Brighton and Charleston brought SOOOoz. of gold to Westport. What are the Masons of Greymouth about that they make no effort to found a .local lodge ? Westport has already one established, a dispensation from the Provincial Grand Lodge of New Zealand under the Scottish Constitution having been received a few days ago. The new lodge is to be entitled " The Thistle Lodge of Westport." We have Melbourne news to the 4th inst. The chief items of interest are contained in the subjoined summary :— His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh left for Hobart Town on the 4th inst. The ' Prince has visited the Westarn districts, , Ballarat, Castlemaine, and Sandhurst, and has been exceedingly well received. The judges of the Supreme Court have decided in an action raised to test the validity of confessed judgments against the Crown, that though judgments so obtained are " a valuable security," the amounts cannot be paid until an Appropriation Act has been passed ; and that in signing warrants for the payment of such judgments before ail Appropriation Bill has been passed the Governor has violated the law, This decision will hasten the end of the long.existing crisis. The writs for the new election are expected to be issued in a few days. The decision qf the Home Go-

vernment on the postal question, adverse as it is to the resolutions adopted in the late ponfereme, has been received wjth great satisfaction, the desire of fd|p public being for more frequent communications with England via Galle. The. wheat crop promises to be good, but prices rose rapidly on receipt of the late advices from England, and best Victorian flour is now quoted at LI 7. Wool has fallen £d to l£d since the receipt, of the mai^ advices. The clip this season is very much larger than that of list year. Exchange is at par. Money is plentiful. Attention is being given to the subject of meat-pregerving for England. A (t'azette published on the 31st ult. contains a code of regulations relating to Go vernment employees, issued under the Civil Services Act. The Secretary for Crown Lands, the Comptroller of Public Accounts, the Undersecretary for Native Affairs., the Director of the Geological Survey, and the Inspector of Public Schools, are appointed a Central Board of Examiners to examine candidates for the Civil Service ; and are also to act as a Local Board for Wellington. Loca] Boards are also appointed for the other capital towns of the colony. We are -very glad, to. find that the report regarding the loss of four men by drowning at Nelson's Cr^ek turns out to be unfounded. We believe that the men in question did incur considerable risk in their efforts to save their water-wheel, and that they were unsuccessful, but none of them were immersed. Westport is getting quite a lively place. Only the other day a Commissioner thrashed an editor ; and np.\^ we hear of a barrister being whipped by a woman. It appears that the legal gentleman (Mr Tyler) had several times given offence a to Mrs Haynes by throwing doubts upon her matrimonial rela^ tious whilsht she was in the witness-box. The offended fair one, determined to have revenge, called at the office of the learned counsel, and did there and then administer a severe castigation upon him with a piece of supple-jack. On a subsequent occasion, she threatened to repeat the punishment, and the result was that Mr Tyler, being in bodily fear of her, had her arrested and brought up on a charge of assault. It came out iv the enquiry {\\&t the woman was married to, Hayi.es, but had previously been judicially separated from a former hunband,, one Chil-. cott. The lady was bound over to keep the peace for six months. The Westport Evening St,ar of the Bth. inst. says :— " We have intelligence to-day of the discovery of new and very rich ground on the Caledonian Lead, and it is further stated that an extensive rush has taken place. The news caused considerable excitement in town, and during the morning pur merchants and storekeepers weis busily engaged in sanding away goods to the new rush. A considerable number of people have already left town to try their luck. Others are only 1 waiting for further information. The new ground is supposed to be a continuation of the Caledonian Lead, and is extensive. The Wellington correspondent of the Otago Daily Times gives th,e following account of the escape of Mr Fox (formerly premier of New Zealand) "and his lady, at St. Thomas :— Amongst the passengers by 'the Kaikoura are Mr and Mrs Fox, and Mr Morrison, the Colonial Agent. It is nothing short of a miracle that has permitted them to arrive hure. Travellers see strange sights, and the strangest of those happening to Mr Fox during his last few years of travel happened at St. Thomas. On the 19th November, while at that island, numerous shocks of earthquake were experienced, aa many as fifty in one day. Instead of being lateral, as they generally are, they were wholly vertical, and little damage to buildr ings took place. Mr Fox had been out sketching, and thinking shipboard preferable to the shore, had intended, with Mr Morrison and one or two others, to go off to the steamer La Plata in the company's tug. Fortunately, they were a little lata aud the tug had started, ap. they took a boat.. While rowing under a promontory, they saw the ore\ys oi the harbor ships ifi a state of, exciter" ment, and presently the cemnaat o f a tidal . wave, some twenty -Jive feot high^ was upon them. Mr Morrison, the other passenger, and the boatman jumped overboard ;.Mraud Mrs Fox remained, in the hope of being carried high and dry. They saw it toss a large schooner bottom upwards like a child's toy and then it overwhelmed \\tsm. Mr and Mrs Fox were at first in a doubly perilous position under the boat j but the draw (under tow I think is the nautical term) liberated them. Mr Fox caught Mrs Fox, and some shore hands caught them both. Mr Morrison was floated under the wharf ; but somehow or other they were all rescued, and dragged safely to laud. The tug in which they had intended to go being further out> sank as soon as capsized, not a soul escaping^ I fear I shall be considered romancing when I say that at the lowest computation this tidal wave was from fifty to sixty feet high, and travelled at the rate of sixty miles an hour. The entrance to St. Thomas, which is a wide mile, broke it ; and when the fag-end reached the shore, it had become reduced t° the moderate proportions above-named. Previous to reaching St. Thomas, a Mr Mather, of (or for) Southland, died. Among those who went off to the Kaikoura on her arrival, to meet Mr Fox, I noticed Dr Featherston, and I was glad to notice that among those on the wharf awaiting his landing, was Mi Stafford. Mr Fox is expected to leave town for his home at Rangitikei, in about ten days •where he will no doubt remain for some few months to come. ;