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Grey River Argus, Volume V, Issue 341, 21 March 1868, Page 2

There was no business transacted in the Resident Magistrate's Court on Thursday and yesterday. We are glad to see that the example of oiir Hokitika neighbors with regard to the formation of a Volunteer .Rifle Corps is to be followed in Gre3'inouth. A meeting of those interested in the formation of a Rifle Corps is announced to be held this evening, at the Albion Hotel, where we trust there will be a large attendance. There are a good many old Volunteers here, and there should be no difficulty in forming a very respectable corps. Mr and Madame Simonsen are announced to 1 appear again at Greymouth on Monday and Tuesday evenings, at the Union Theatre. We | are sure that all lovers of music will gladly avail themselves of the additional opportunity of enjoying the performances of these accomplished artistes. Amongst other attractive compositions, the entire third act of Weber's opera Der Freischutz will be performed. Thursday night last was ♦' settling night " in connection with the events of the first two days of the Greymouth Annual Race Meeting I — the extra day's sports having been posttill to-day in consequence of the unfavorable weather, 'fhe "settling" passed off in a very satisfactory manner, the Stewards pay* iug over between LSOO and LGOO in stakes' A protest was handed in by the owner of Mocking Bird against Policy receiving the money for the Greymquth Handicap and the Ladies' Purse, for running as a live instead of a six-year-old. A Committee appointed by the Stewards considered tiie matter, and after receiving satisfactory evidence, awarded the stakes to Policy. Two protests, one against Annetta, ami the other against the owner of Centurion, were not entertained. The heavy rain which fell on Thuisrlay prevented the projected third day's racing being accomplished, and at a meeting of the Stewards held in the evening, it was decided that the extra races should come off to-day if thu weather be favorable. The Went Count Times states that accord, ing to a telegram that came to hand on Thursday afternoon from Wellington, the Queensland bubble has burst at last, to thp ruin of a large minority of the fliggers, who hastened to that land of doubtful rushes. The telegram states that certain news of a reaction had reached Wellington, and that Captain Benson, the Piiuama Company's manager, had been strongly urged to send every available steamer to Maryborough, as the miners were flocking away in thousands, much faster than means of conveyance could be provided for them. The local paper notices tiie completion of a groat undertaking at Addison's Flat — a tunnel of nearly thirteen hundred feet in length, belonging to Younghusband and party. It was completed within the short space of two months, and its beneficial effects are already being felt as it is draining the ground completely in that part of the lead. We learn from our contemporary that Hokitika has had a very narrow escape. About 3 o'clock on Tuesday morning a house at the rear of the Brian Boru Hotel was discovered to be on fire, but the neighbors managed to extinguish it before much damage was done. Shortly after noon yesterday information was received at the Police Camp that ther services were required at this spot. Sergeant Hams and Constable Bennett at once proceeded thither. On entering the house, they found that the bottom of the chimney hud been excavated, and a large fire piled up in the chimney and over the hearth place. An immense log, nearly six feet long was stuck in the midst. When the police entered the woodword was just catching. The fire was immediately put out, and the incendianr — a man supposed to be insane — was arrested in the house, and conveyed to the lock-up. Hail the first attempt succeeded, the consequences must have been most disastrous, for, owing to the heavy northerly gale that was blowing at the time, nearly the whole of Hokitika might have been reduced j to ashes. ■ The correspondent of the Westport Times, in a recent letter from Waite's Pakihis, says: — "The most important event on 1 Waite's Pakihis since my hist, is that of the starting of the first cement crashing machine, j I which was christened some few days ago. I The name given was "Tho Enterprise," indeed a most appropriate one, for every man in the party seems to have that quality in every sense of the word. The machine is now in full working order, and the proprietors informed me that they could not exactly say what it would pay at present, as they had only commenced crushing the day before, but from the appearance of the blankets he felt certain it would give from Ll2 to Lls per week per man. There are at least 250 men engaged at various parts of the flat, some of whom are making small wages, and ethers are doing remarkably well. The cement that I mentioned in my last, at the north end of the old lead, which was once supposed to be worthless, has been taken up by Green and party, who have laid down about six hundred feet of a tramway, for the purpose of taking the cement to the creek, where they intend burning it on the old system. I may safely say, every miner located on this gold field is now fully employed. The erection of water-wheels seems to be the order of the day, for Bince my last two more have been completed — one by Jeffrey and party, the other by Holdgate and party, the former being of larger dimensions than any other on the lead. The whole of the flat where mining operations are carried on has a buey appearance, and every man is steadily at work ; money is becoming more plentiful, and affairs in general have a prosperous aspect. "

At the criminal sittings of the District , Court, held ;it Hokitika, o:i Wednesday, before his Honor, E. Clark, Esq., William Young, committed from Greymouth. for ( stealing money at the Niagara Hotel, was found guilty and sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment -with hard labor. On Thursday Michael Cullen was brought up, indicted Avith having, at Greymouth, obtained money by false pretences. ■Mr Guinness appeared for the prisoner. The prisoner was accused of having passed a cheque for LlO on the strength of his assertion that he was a member of the firm of Cullen Bros., Hokitika, He was found guilty and remanded for sentence, The West Coast Times of Thursday reports another case of death by drowning at the Wdiniea Creek, It appears that a man, whose name we have not been able to ascertain, attempted to cross the creek at about 1 1 o'clock on Wednesday morning, the ford being very deep in consequence of the rain of the previous night, and on reaching the centre of the stream the current took him oCf his feet and carried him out to sea. His body has not yet been recovered. The West Coast Times of Wednesday says : — " A rush that is likely to lead to the opening up and working of the large alluvial flats on the north side of the Hokitika Eiver is now in hand on Shenandaah Flat, and has given an air of liveliness to th« ' Old Fivemile' to which the place has long been a stranger. Our reporter visited the ground yesterday, and a-scertained that the lost Shenandoah Flat Lead has been recovered by Walsh and party, who sunk a shaft at the back of the United Company's lease, a few yards from the old workings, and at a depth of fifteen feet struck a bed of washdirt upon a false bottom, and were rewarded by prospects tl\at ran from four grains to six grains to the dish. This happened at the beginning of last week, and for a day or two the men kept the discovery secret, meantime proving that the gold ran parallel with the river in a well-defined lead, about twenty feet wiile, Eventually the truth leaked out, and. a rush ensued, the ground being pegged out in all directions as far down the llat as the Globe Hotel. The two claims nearest the prospectors have been tested, and found to contain the lead, the psospects in each case being satisfactory. A shaft sunk on the third claim proved a duffer, being out of the line, but the men immediately commenced another, and were close to the bottom last night, with avery indication of a golden hole Some six or seven shafts that are going down in claims below them will be bottomed to-day or to-morrow. If they strike gold, the result will be one of the heaviest rashes that has taken place in the district for many months. So far the ground is dry and easy to work, the depth of washdirt being from one foot to eighteen inches." Speaking of the sweeping retrenchments being effected in the Government service at Christchurch, the Lyttellon Times says :— "When Mr Stewart brought down his estimates at the opening of tho. session, -we congratulated the province upon the fact that it possessed a Superintendent who had so much public spirit as voluntarily to submit, by way of example, to the reduction of his income by one-third. For it must bo borne in mind that when Mr Moorhouse proposed to reduce his salary from Lit oo to LIOOO a year, it was a purely voluntary act. No pressure from without could have forced him to take this step. He might have fallen back upon the terms of the Ordinance, by which his salary is fixed at LISOO a year during his tenure of office, and declined to accede to any reduction. But he refused to take advantage of his position, and preferred to lead the way in those reforms which he doubtless perceived to be absolutely necessary, and for this he deserved the thanks of the community. Since the change of Government, Mr Moorbouse has shewn himself to be capable of still further self-sacrifice. At the suggestion of his present Executive he has consented to what can only be called a further enormous reduction in his salary. For, by the present estimates, the salary of the Superintendent is reduced to the comparatively small sum of LGOO per annum. It is not our prpsent object to discuss the merito of the question, or to offer an opinion whether the last reduction is either politic or necessary. It is only fair to suppose that the contracting parties had arrived at the conclusion that it was, at least, absolutely necessary. And, from that point of view we must say that it j redounds very greatly to the honor and credit of the Superintendent. He has set a very striking example, inasmuch as he has voluntarily agreed to a loss of salary in comparison with which all other official reductions are absolutely trilling." We learn from the Westport Times that a hew discovery of auriferous ground has been made up the Lyell river. Our contemporary says : — Yesterday, by the arrival of some I parties for tools, &c, we hear that a terrace, with a lead about eighty feet wide, live feet of stripping, and five feet of wash-dirt, has been opened and taken up near the Lyell, and a race, with about half-a-mile of cutting and forty chains of fluining has been brought on by Croawell and party and Pierce and party, so that washing will at once commence. The gold is coarser than the ordinary run of Westport gold, and the prospect shows a probable return of from Lls to L 25 per man weekly. The number of people up the river cannot be ascertained, as the partie s are scattered through the bush, but the general impression seems to be, amongst the miners themselve, that any men who go up the river with the determination to work, ami not let the first baulk discourage them, can be certain to find gold, and in payabl* quantities. There are three stores at the ! Lyell, near which this terrace is situated,and they are doing well. We are not trying, by these remarks, to cause a rush, but we should advise miners who have never prospected the fiuller and its tributaries to do so before leaving the country, and we are quite sure that sucoess will attend their enterprise. The track is good, and a boat works once a week. We shall be in a position soon to give a more detailed account, and we will do so as fully and as correctly as possible.

During cue of the trials in the District Court at Hokitika the other day, the following courteous amenities passed between the Judge and the Crown Prosecutor : — flis Honor : Have you any more witnesses, Mr O'Loughlin? The Crown Prosecutor: Yes, your Honor. His Honor : Then why do you not call them ? Crown Prosecutor : It is not my duty to order the witness out of the box. His Honor : You have been very impertinent several times, I advise you not to be so again. The Crown Prosecutor : No, your Honor, I have not. His Honor : You gave me the lie direct in open Court yesterday, and I advise you not to do so again, The Crown Prosecutor ; I did not, your Honor. Ido not recollect doing so. And I was only observing that it was not ray place to order the witness to leave the box, as the jury might wish to put some questions to him. ! Under the heading of ''What returned I Diggers say of Maryborough Diggings," the Bruidwood Dispatch, March 2, writes as follows : — " During the past week several parties have returned from the new diggings at Maryborough, after a sojourn up there of a mouth. The cry is the same from all those who have been up there. The diggings are completely overdone, their being thousands of men up there who cannot tind any ground that will yield more than the bare color of gold, and who would gladly get away if they had the means. From what we can hear this rush will prove a second edition (but of a lar more extensive nature) of the Port Curtis bubble. There has been a little patch of good ground hit upon by the first discoverers, a share of which was obtained by a few of tiie first arrivals; and the private letters of these few parties to their friends in the different parts of the colony, detailing in such glowing terms the result of their labors, aud the prospects that awaited others who would lose no time in joining them, has led to siich a furore amongst the mining community as has not been known for many a day. Instead of the rich ground holding on as was expected, however, those who have rushed off with such haste to obtain their slice of luck, in allinstances at considerable pecuniary sacrifice, after sinking hole after hole, and prospecting in all directions, find that they can barely make their 'tucker.' "