Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume VI, Issue 439, 5 November 1868, Page 2

Subscribers to the Religious Institute, Gresson street, are reminded that a meeting will be held, at the building, to-morrow evening, at eight o'clock, for the purpose of considering the various propositions which have been made with regard to its fiual disposal. It is notified by the Wexlland Gazette of the 2nd inst., that Monday next, the 9th inst., will be observed as a public holiday, being the birthday of the Prince of Wales. AH Government offices will be closed. A meeting of the Hospital Committee was held at the Albion Hotel last evening- Mr W. H. Revell in the chair. The accounts for the past month were passed for payment. It was reported that a number of the up-

country subscription lists had been sent in, ' with very satisfactory returns, and a cordial i vote of thanks was accorded to the collectors, f These lists were ordered to be published in i the next issue of this paper. The Visiting i Committee reported that during the past i month 14 patients had b'eVn admitted, three -\ had died, and 12 were discharged, leaving 1 25 now in the Hospital. The Visiting Com- < mittee appointed for the present month con- i sisted of Messrs Greenwood, Strike, and { Kenrick. Votes of thanks were given to 1 Mesdames Cooler and Gourlay, for donations j of books ; also, to Messrs Magoffin, Nelson, ■* Chesterfield, Allan, Coutanche, and Keown, ] for donations of plants, seeds, &c, for the \ reserve. < A boat accident occurred up the river on i Tuesday, about halfra-mile above the Twelve j Mile. The cargo boat of John Hamilton, ] better known as "Johnny the Greek," was ] proceeding up the river, with a full cargo I and two women and children as passengers, ' when it came in contact with a snag and ■< capsized, precipitating the passengers and ( cargo into the water. The crew rescued the < women and children with some difficulty, 1 but the whole of the cargo was lost. The < boat was recovered, not much injured. i The Council Council will meet for the despatch of business on Wednesday next, the ' 11th instant. ; The Westland Gazette, of the 31st ultimo, notifies that the County Chairman has ' granted protection for Card's Track, running '> from their lower store on the New River, to their upper store, in Liverpool Bill's Gully, ' a distance of thirteen miles. The protection is given for one year from the 14th of last ' month, on the following conditions : — "The ' track be cut sufficiently high on the beaches of the river to let people walk up or down with safety during floods. The track be kept in reasonable repair to the satisfaction of the ; County Engineer, all soft places being cordu- . royed and gravelled where gravel is obtainable. Peaceable possession of the track to ' be given up to the Government or Grey Road Board on an infringement of either of the j above conditions." T;h;e if olio winy scale of ' tolls is authorised to be charged: — *'For ' every horse or other beast of burden, 2s Gd . j for every head of cattle, 2s Cd ; for sheep, i per head, 3d ; horses ridden by Government ' officers on duty, free." In the Resident Magistrate's Court, on Tuesday, the only disputed civil case heard was one brought by Henry Phillips against William King to recover Ll 2s 6d, the price of a pair of turkeys illegally detained. The plaintiff's case was that his turkeys were driven into the defendant's yard, and penned up along with his. The defence was that the turkeys were not taken to the defendant's place, and never were detained there. The evidence given was most conflicting, and the case was dismissed ; but a promise given that a re-hearing would be granted, if any fresh evidence could be obtained. — Yesterday ■ morning, Thomas and M'Beath were charged i with obstructing the footpath by goods, aud ' were dismissed with a caution, the Magistrate stating that these obstructions must be put a stop to. Mary Phillips was charged by Kate ■ Jones with making use of abusive language, ] calculated to provoke a breach of the peace, on the 2nd instant. She was also charged ■ with a similar offence by Jane Paterson, on < the same day. It appeared that these parties ' kept hotels on the opposite sides of Johnston street, and on the day in question the de- ] fendant came ont of her door and made use ; of some most filthy language, keeping up the abuse for over half-an-hour. The language and circumstances could not be detailed. The Magistrate characterised the proceeding ' as discreditable to all parties concerned. For women, their conduct had been most shameful, but as it had been proved that the language complained- of had been used, he i would tine the defendant in each case Is and costs. , The IJawkes Bay Herald, of the 24th ult., says : — ' ' The news from Wairoa, meagre as ■ it is, is in some respects better than we had \ anticipated ; for instance, we are glad to state that the reported murder of Lockwood \ and Felix was untrue, both men being in " safety in the township. The murder of ' Karaitiana and the scouts is, however, uncontradicted, and must, we fear, be accepted 1 i a correct." ( Further reductions have been made by Mr ] Mackay in the ground-rent of sections on the J Maori Reserve. A deputation of leaseholders in Albert strset waited on him on Tuesday, and in answer to, their representations Mr Mackay reduced the rents of full sections in that street to L2Q. per annum, which is a re- ; duction of L 4 15s. \ The brethren of the Greymouth Masonic _ Lodge met on Tuesday evening, at the Lodgeroom, Albion Hotel. One interesting feature ( of the proceedings was the presentation of an honorary jewel, a true square, to the '. Master, Brother Ancher, by the younger ] members of the lodge. Mi E. B. Fox made ' the presentation in a neat speech, and the [ Master returned thanks in appropriate terms. 1 The jewel is a very handsome specimen of , local manufacture, having been designed and made by Messrs Dupre and Rensch, Rich- ] raoud Quay. It is formed out of a beautiful 1 piece of greenstone, bound and cornered with clasps of gold richly ornamented, aud in the ( centre surmounted by a silver compass and square, the centre of which is a diamond. The ribbon from which the jewel depends is bound with gold, and the back of the clasp bears the following inscription :— "Presented to Brother Ancher by the brethren of Greymouth, New Zealand. — October, 1868," j After the presentation the brethren sat down j to a slight repast; 'when a number of toasts ] were proposed and responded to. ] At a sitting of the Westland District Court, in Chambers, on Monday last, the case of j Girdwood v. Farquhar and others was argued, ( upon an application by the plaintiff for a i writ of attachmeut against Farquhar for con- J tempt. It will be remembered that the schooner Falcon lay for several months at I the Greymouth wharf, detained by an injunction of the Court, but on the night of \ the 19th of June, she was towed to sea, and 1 removed to Auckland. These circumstances ]

were set forth in the plaintiff's affidavit as follows :— That on the 19th June, the defendant Farqnhar took the vessel from the wharf at Greymouth, and having caused the master, Gilbert Mowat, to be battened down tinder hatches, took the schooner to sea without the necessary papers, and conveyed her to Auckland, where she had Bince been detained by defendant (Farquhar). The iffidavit of Gilbert Mowat, master mariner, set forth that he was placed by plaintiff on beard, in command of the schooner Falcon, is she lay alongside the wharf at Greymouth, Walter Champion, master mariner, being placed on hoard by defendant Farquhar. On the 19th June, deponent heard a steamboat uome alongside, and on attempting to come up from below he found the hatches fastened, and deponent was kept prisoner until the Falcon was cast off by the steamer Favorite. Deponent was then released by Walter Champion, and remained on board until the vessel arrived at the Manukau, where she was moored opposite the residence of the defendant Farquhar, who came on board and ordered deponent to leave by twelve o'clock that day, which he did." The Judge said he considered this to be one of the most infamous and grossest cases of contempt that had ever come under his notice ; it was setting the writ of the court at defiance. The attachment was ordered to issue. We learn from the W. O. Times, of yester day, that the Hon. Jas. A. Bonar, M.L.C., and his Honor the Superintendent of Canterbury, are the arbitrators appointed for the settlement of the debt of Westland to Canterbury. It remains with these gentlemen to choose an umpire. In the event of their not doing so within a certain time the Governor will appoint one. A Nelson correspondent of the Weslport Times, relates the following : — People here are somewhat funkey, just now, on the subject of earthquake waves, scarcely a night has passed since the great shock, but what quake 3or shakes of one kind or auother have happened. They appear to have been specially remarked by gentlemen detained out late at night, and nervous old ladies, but on Sunday a shock is said to have passed about three o'clock in the afternoon. The gentleman in whose house I was at the time drew attention to the tremulous motion cf the dinner table, but it was so slight as to escape my observation ; the papers, however, afterwards made mention of a shock having been felt. Apropos of earthquakes, the following story is being told about Dr Hector, with what degree of truth I cannot say, but it is only fair to state that no mention of it is made in the Wellington papers. JDr Hector, it is said, stated his e< nviction that a severe earthquake WJuld occur on the night of the 18th ult. He therefore invited several scientific friends to spend the evening with him, in order to make observations, stating that he believed that the earthquake would take place about midnight. The mystic hour arrived, but brought no earthquake with it, ami the loarnetl doctor's frionds began to jest with him uu the unluliilmeut of liia prediction." He, however, requested them to suspend their judgment for a while, and having gone out on the verandah for a few minutes, returned, and immediately commenced a mock incantation scene, calling around him by appropriate gestures, like auother Zainiel, the dread powers of darkness, much to the amusement nf his guests. Their horror, Lowever, ln-iy be imagined when, only a few minutes after the doctor had commenced his spell, the earthquake really oaine ; and we can hardly be surprised to learn, us the story runs, that, yielding to a sudden and irrational impulse, they unanimously implored him to desist from his unholy work.