Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume VII, Issue 452, 5 December 1868, Page 2

; Owing to a pressure of matter we are com- : pelled to hold over our report of the meeting of the Borough Council. 1 A meeting pf ( the Sports Committee was | held at Shannon's Star Hotel on Thursday • evening, when Committees were appointed : to choose the ground, and to draw up a programme of the sports. A general meeting of ; the subscribers was appointed for this even- : ing at Johnston's Hotel. ; A sitting in bankruptcy was held yester- ! <lay forenoon at the Court House, before Mr ; Kenrick, Clerk to the District Court, when W. J. Pellett was adjudicated a bankrupt. ; An order of final discharge was granted to ■ Stephen Egan, the Clerk being satisfied with the books and statements of accounts produced. * The Third-class Militia in the Wellington Province has been sworn in. All Volunteer corps in the North Island are to be called out on active service. Mr P. Comiskey will address fche electors of Greymouth at Kilgour's Hotel; on Monday evening, and at Addison's Hotel, on Tuesday evening. It was stated lately that the Governor intended to pay the^est Coast a visit in a short time, in H.M.S.Blauche, on her arrival from Sydney. ' The Blanche arrived at Wellington some clays ago, and has sailed for Napier. It is considered highly improbable that the intended visit will be paid during the present crisis in the North Island. A man named Williams robbed the paronage at Spring Grove, Nelson, of the silver ehaliee and pafcben belonging to the communion service. When be discovered thei r use, he repented and delivered them and himself up to the police. He got two months imprisonment. About five chains of the Hospital Reserve have now been broken up and are ready for planting, j For the purpose of improving the ground, contributions of (lowers, plants, and seeds will be thankfully received by the steward at the Hospital. The action for damages brought by Mr Apted, late editor of the Westport Tiniest against Mr Kynuersley, late Commissioner of the Nelson South-west Gold Fields, has resulted m a verdict for the plaintiff for the sum paid into Court, £7 2s, which covers costs of trial against the plaintiff for all proceedings which occurred subsequent to the pa3'ment of the money. Mr Travers, who held a commission in 1850, will probably be appointed to the con., mand of the Premier Militia Company! CMpu»« ■■ CU»l y an..an old "Welliucton settler, has been appointed to the command of ths Napiei district ; and Mr Lowdley, of Christchurch, latn a Cornet, in the 7th Hussars, has been appointed drill instructor to the Wellington and Hntt Militia. The latter appointment has naturally given great diss itisfaction in Wellington. We regret to report that a packer named John Grimes, about 60 years of age, in the employ of Messrs Webb and Murdoch, \\ as drowned on Thursday afternoon, about six hundred yards below the Three-mile Beach, Greenstone Creek. It is supposed that in crossing the creek, which he bad to do very often, the fresh carried him away, but the circumstances are unknown, as no one saw the occurrence. The deceased was univerr sally respected, and leaves a wife and family in Christchurcli. This incident ought to impress upon the Road Board the necessity of pushing on the proposed road with the utmost energy. On Thursday morning, a miner named Henry Vyne was brought down the river by boat, and conveyed to the Hospital, suffering from a broken leg. The accident occurred to him while working in a claim at Red Jack's Terrace. He is progressing favorably. — Another accident occurred on Thursday morning, by which G. Martin, keeper of the Cove Cork Hotel, and an owner of boats on the river, had his arm broken. He was driving the horse while the boat was proceeding up the falls, when it kicked out and struck him near the shoulder, breaking his arm. We are happy to say he is doing well. It was reported to tbe authorities at Cobden, on Thursday, that the body of a man had been found buried up to the head in the sludge on the flat at the foot of Duffers' Gully. It is said that as some miners were travelling clown they saw the head of a man sticking out of the sludge, antl on approaching him and raising his head to see if he was alive, it came off in their hands, from the effects of decomposition. Should this be true, the poor fellow, whose name is yet unknown, must have sunk in the sludge, and met a long, lingering, miserable death. Mr Warden Dutton started up-country on Thursday for the purpose of holding an inquest on the body, but up to last evening we did not hear that lie had returned. | The question of the feasibility of Grey- / mouth supplying the Greenstone diggings ■with goods direct, on terms to compete with Hokitika, has been satisfactorily solved by Messrs Rugg and Co., who have now got their boats, horses, and men at work on the Teremakau River, and have during the present week conveyed a number of tons of goods right on the diggings, delivering them at a few shillings a Imndred-weight less than is charged for the conveyance of goods from Hokitika. The route |s from Greymouth to the Teremakau by drays ; from the Teremakau to the Junction by boats ; and from there to the Greenstone diggings by packhorses, a distance of six miles over a very bad road. The river is reported to be almost entirely free from snags, and much more navigable than the Grey River. A miner named George Aber has been drowned at the Ohiki River, Buller District. The Westport Times says that his brothejy Edward Aber, reached town on Tuesday

evening, Ist instant. Both brothers had been working for some time up the Lyell river. The canoe iv which the deceased was crossing is described as having been a most' miserable apology for a boat, scarcely de- , serving the name of boat or canoe. The crossing-place, in anything like ordinary weather, is a very, snie one, though the boat , at no time was capable of holding two persons with any degree of safety. The only paddle in use also was a make-shift, a short-handled ' shovel, which was used by the boatman, Fred. Moore. We understand the boatmen are subsidised by receiving a free license, i which is certainly equal to whatever outlay i it would be to have a good boat provided for such a crossing. Either there should be some other kind of subsidy or Home penalty enforced on obtaining such subsidy ; but these are matters too often only remedied by sarious accidents of this kind. How the men who enlisted in- the Colonial Forces for three months' service at the front are being used by the Government is illustrated by the following incident. Lately some men of the Patea force refused duty, as they said their three months' engagement was up. The authorities answered by referring to the last clause of the agreement, which says '"or until legally discharged. " The men argued that if this version good, they might be kept for the term of their natural lives. However they all returned to their duty except one man, who positively refused to do so, as his three months' agreeineut was ended. He was tried by Court Martial for so refusing, and flogged. He received twenty-five lashes. After this it need scarcely be said patriotism at the front *s at a discount. Whitniore is much disWi. : ' ' ' ' ' ''"