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Grey River Argus, Volume VI, Issue 440, 7 November 1868, Page 2

An extraordinary general meeting of the sharehokltors in the Grey Kiver Steam Tug Company will be held this afternoon, at three o'clock, at Kilgour's Hotel, for the purpose of considering the advisability of declaring a dividend. We observe by the Auckland papers that Mr. H. Wrigg, C.E.,has been appointed Provincial Engineer of Auckland Province, as well as Chief Engineer and Surveyor of the Golilfields in that Province. The letter which we publish to-day from our own correspondent at Nelson Creek fully corroborates the statements we recently made respecting the value of the new lead discovered about two miles above the old workings. A large rush has taken place to the neighborhood, and the lead has been proved for a considerable distauce. Should the anticipations formed of it by the miners on the spot prove correct, it is expected to bs the largest rush that has yet taken place up the Grey River. A fire took place in Ponsonby-road Auckland, on October 27th, when a workshop and store of Messrs. Lang and Aruiitice, rope-maker 3, were destroyed. The damages were small. At the Resident Magistrate's Court, on Thursday, John Wilson and William Peters were each fined 10s and costs, for having been drunk and disorderly. — Yesterday, Charles Wilson was charged with having made use of abusive language to Jos. Booth, calculated to provoke a breach of the peace. He was fined £2 and costs. The Southern Gross of the 29th nit., says that Richard Hogan, Postmaster at Havelock, Hawke's Bay, has been committed for trial on the charge of feloniously embezzling, secreting, or destroying a certain post letter directed to S. G. Braudan, Esq., Bank of New Zealand, Napier, the said letter containing one ten-pound note, one five-pound bank note, two cheques for LI and L 2 9d respectively, and one order for L3 lss Bd. We are indebted to the thoughtfulness of Mi T. L. Shepherd, who arrived by the Rangitoto yesterday, for a copy of the latest Argus brought to the Bluff by the Tararua from Melbourne. Further reductions have been made by the Native Commissioner, in the ground-rents of certain portions of the Reserve. We believe that the block on Mawhera Quay, between Tainui and Werita streets, has beeu reduced from £2 and £2 10s to £1 per foot frontage. This is a very considerable 'reduction, an' l Mr Mackay deserves the thanks of the leaseholders for the manner in which he has acted, upon their representations. The United States Concert Hidl maintains its attractiveness, and has been very liberally patronised during the week. The enterprising proprietor has recently added several very clever artistes to the company, and the entertainments nightly given are of a very pleasing character. On Monday, the anniversary of the Prince of Wales Birthday, a grand ball and concert will be given at the hall. The election of a member to represent the towu of Hokitika in the County Council, in the room of Mr J. R. Carey, resigned, took place on Thursday, at noon, when Mr T. L. Bright wa3 returned without opposition. The next anniversary of New Zealand will be the centennial, Captain Cook having landed on, these shores on the Bth October, 1769. Some of the Northern papers suggest that a general demonstration should be got up to celebrate it throughout the Colony in a suitable manner. Mr Cracroft Wilson, M.H.R. has been appointed by her Majesty, Companion of the Order of the Star of India, for distinguished services rendered during the Indian mutiny. A public meeting of subscribers to the Religious Institute was held in the building last evening, for the purpose of settling its disposal. MrW. H. Revell was in the chair. Mr Wickes moved — "That the building be vested in the Mayor and Corporation of Greymouth and the two senior officers of the Greymouth Volunteer Corps, and tberCounciJ to have a right of erecting offi/fes and the use of the building as a town hall, and the Volunteers to have the use of the hall for drill ; all funds accruing from letting the building to be expended in improving the property. On the disbaudment of the Greymouth Volunteers the whole of the trust to be vested in the Corporation. On all questions the Corporation and Volunteers to have two votes each, and the right to appoint an umpire in cases of dispute." This was seconded by Mr Allan and carried. We recently mentioned that a man named John Levill, while on the way from this town to Christchurch, was shot at Craigieburn, while asking food at a station. We now learn from the Press that an inquest was held on his body at Mr Campbell's station, Craigieburn, on Tuesday last. It seems that about noon of that day he weut to the station, and asked the chief shepherd for employment. The latter told him that no bands were wanted, and Levill then asked for " tucker." He was offered some flour both by the shepherd and the cook, but refused to take anything save bread and meat, which it was not convenient to give him. An altercation ensued, and Levill finally went away, but returned to the hut a few minutes afterwards, bringing a bulldog with him. On this occasion he was very violent, and got into a hot altercation with the cook, whose name is Thomas Pepperill. The latter then armed himself with a double-barrelled gun, and threatened to shoot the deceased if he did not keep out of the kitchen. A scuffle ensued, during which Levill strove to wrest the gun

out of Pepperill's hano,J&The first barrel almost immediately went off or was fired off, but did no mischief ; some of the shots from the seoond, however, which was discharged , directly after, entered Levill's breast and thigh, and resulted in his death a few hours \ afterwards. The only witness of the occurrence was the shepherd, John Magsom, the tenor of whose evidence given yesterday is that the discharge of the gun was accidental ; although he declined to,commit himself by a positive assertion on tiie-subject. — The following statement made by the deceased was read : — " Cragieburn, 27th October, 1867, 8 "20 p.m. M> name is John Levill, of Lewes ' Town, county of Wexford, Ireland. I have i now come from Greymouth, county of West- < land. I left 'on the 24th inst., and intended ■ to go to Christchurch. I arrived here this i day, and asked for a job of work, and was ( told there was no work. I then asked for a r feed, and the cook told me he could only ■ give nic flour. 1 asked for bread, as I did not want to stop ; and ssked for somethiug < to feed my dogs, to keep them out of mischief' ; He said if they did any harm he would shoot 1 them. He then told me to go away, and I 1 gave him a shove. This was outside. The ] cook then ran in, and came to the door with ) a gun. T then went to the door- and said, : " Sboot me, for it is as well to die as to go : hungry." He then firecl' at me, and the charge went through my thigh. 1 was about two feet from the muzzle of the gun. I then staggered to the door, when he fired the [ second barrel at me, which struck me in the '. right breast. He fired the second shot directly after the first, and said directly after ] he did not want to kill me, but only to ! frighten me. There was another man present ! at the time, who aftei wards went away for ' the police. —John Levill." The jury returned a verdict of "Manslaughter, with greatly extenuating circumstances." It will be seen by our report of the pro i ceerlings of the Borough Council on Thursday '. evening, that the Nelson Government ha" . refused to make any contribution toward ■ completing the protective works at this port . The reason given for the refusal is certainly , a novel one. It is 'because the County of '. Westland derives so much 1 (?) Customs revenue ] from goods consumed in the Kelson Province. This is just the answer we anticipated, and is quite consistent with the policy which the ! Nelson Government has pursued all through ■ on this subject. We may take an early op- ■ portunity of pointing out the fallacy con. ' tamed in the reason adduced ; but we have little expectation that, in the present financial position of the Province, anything we may . advance will alter the decision which has i been arrived at by the Government. A man named William Steenson, of Cab- : bage-tree Swamp, was yesterday charged, says the Southern Gross of the 29th nit., at ' the Auckland Police Court, with a breach of : the Distillation Act, by having a still upon ■ his premises, to which he pleaded guilty. The Bench in sentencing the defendant stated that the public appeared not to know the enormity of the offence, nor the amount ' of punishment awaiting it. It would be well s for them to know that the Bench had the " power of inflicting for such an offence a fine of LSOO, or in default two years' hard labor. ! The Bench said, as former mild penalties seemed to have no effect in stopping this illegal traffic, the prisoner would be fined in the sura of Ll5O, or in default of immediate payment suffer eight months' imprisonment. In default, the prisoner was removed. A poor deformed miner was brought into Tuapeka by Cobb and Co's coach the other evening, relates the Daily Times of the 2Sth ] ult., suffering from injuries inflicted upon ! him about the chest and other parts of the body. His own statement was that he had ( worked mates with a man named Cameron * in a gully in the vicinity of Round Hill— .! that repeated quarrels had taken place be- ] tween them, and thafc on Sunday, the 11th ] inst , Cameron caught hold of. him, threw "* him. down upon the stketcher, and beat him ' unmercifully about the breast. For seven ] days after receiving this tteatment, he was unable to leave his bed. The locality being an isolated one, the poor fellow's condition < was only known to his cowardly assailant. 1 At the expiry of that time, however, the '• former managed to crawl the length of the roadside, and was picked up by the driver of the coach. Moore was immediately removed to the hospital, and the police were sent in 1 quest of Cameron, who was shortly after- 1 wards lodged in the lock-up. At the sitting i of the Court on Monday last, Cameron was formally charged with the assault. Dr ' the hospital surgeon, stated that Moare was unable to attend; and that althctigh the damages he had sustained were serious, he could not tell for a day or two '■ whether they were likely to prove fatal, i S Upon that testimony, a remand was grant9d. •