Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume VII, Issue 501, 1 April 1869, Page 2

. Anothor fatal accident is reported from Nelson Creek, where so many miners have lost their lives. The particulars to hand as yet are very meagre, in consequence of the non-arrival of our correspondent's letter. It appears that a miner named Edward Thomas, a native of Penzance, Cornwall, was working in a tail-race in a claim some distance above the Upper Township, when a tree fell on him, and he must have been killed instantaneously. The body was found to be frightfully crushed. An officer was sent from Cobden yesterday to investigate the case. : Since the late rush was reported on the North Beach, the locality of the prospecting claim has been visited by several hundreds of miners, but none have set in owing to the scarcity of water, ami the expense of bringing it on to t 1 c ground. The prospectors

■\\ 'I do well sifter they have completed the diversion of their race from the beach where they were previously working, to the new ground, which (isj'a short distance inla-id. They have ordered a few hundred feet of fhunuig for this, purpose. The following notice was yesterday posted at the Warden's office, Cobden, relative to this ground: — "I have this day g. anted a prospecting claim, of 170 by 85 feet, to -Henry Hugall and Owen Oox, on ground situate three miles north of Canoe Creek and three miles south of Razorback, about 150 yards irland from the beach. The depth of stripping is from two to three feet, j with one foot of wash, and black sand bottom. ] The some description of ground extends for more than a mile. The ground is payable when water is brought on, but nothing more ; and although the ground has been \ Isited by many, the prospectors are the only parties at work. Miners are therefore cautioned not to leave other claims, simply because new ground has been taken up which entitles the applicants to a double area. —J. Roger DurroN." The numerous parties working between the Seventeen-mile beach and Razorback are all doing well Nearer town, Herbert's Terrace is again looking up, and is yet expected to turn out something good. There are seven or eight parties working there, and during the recent dry weathur employed themselves erecting dams. They have now plenty of water, and are doing very well. In the other localities on the North Beach there is nothing stirring. Wo are glad to hear that between eighty and ninety applications to be placed on the electoral roll have been lodged vi Ith the Returning Officer from this town. Mr W. Dale, who canvassed the town, has be>-n chiefly instrumental in bring this about. AJI persons desirous of holding seats in Ti'nity Church during the ensuing year, are requested to attend at the Church to-morrow, at 4 p.m., or make application to Mr J. G. Thomas, Church-warden. The Justices of the Peace in this dist; let are requested to meet at the Resident Magistrate's Court to-morrow, for the purpose of revising the jury ] ; st recently drawn up. Two inquests were held at Hokitika on Tuesday, in both of which cases the jury returned verdicts of "found drownei." The one was on the body of John Clark, a boatman on the Hokitika river, who was supposed to have been carried out to sea while attempting to cross the river on Friday night. The other was on the body of James Gilep, who was found drowned, lying on the fase'ies near the Australasian Hotel. At the Resident Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, before W. H. ReveU, Esq., R.M., the following civil cases were disposed of :— Henry Jones v. Catherine Jones, Lll 14s, judgment by default ; W. Rae v. Thomas Clear, L 23 ss, judgment for the plaintiff with costs; Skoglund and Purcell v. Dennis Buggy, L 2 10s, judgment by default, with costs. Yesterday, Wa M'Gowan, charged with having been drunk and incapable, was dismissed w.th a caution, and Joseph Grey for having been drunk and disorderly was fined 10s, or 4S hours' imprisonment. We believe that Constable Jeffrey Macpherson, lately stationed at the Twelve-mile, was telegraphed for by the Superintendent of Nelson to be presented to the Duke of Edinburgh as the first white man born :in the Middle Island. He left by the s.s. Murray on Tuesday night. The Evening Mail is informed that the Order of Loyal Orangemen of Canterbury have intimated to Mr Gordon, the town clerk, the desire of their body to join in welcoming the sailor son of their royal sovereign on his arrival in Canterbury. A meat export company has been formed in Christchurch. At a recent meeting the committee reported that 600 shares had been applied for, but that according to a resolution adopted by the promoters of the company, I operations would not* be commenced until j 1000 had been taken. The committee, how- j ever, thought that if 800 shares were taken j up, they would constitute a sufficient basis j for a commencement of business. The committee were willing to take 100 shares of the 200 which would make up his number, and they thought the other 100 might be easily disposed of. A resolution that the report be adopted was carried unanimously, and seventy j shares were taken up by the meeting, leaving only thirty to make up the required number of 800. A miner named Richard Cox has been killed by a fall of earth in a claim at Ross. He was born at St. Jiist, Cornwall, and was about 27 years of age ; his father was living at Bendigo, Victoria. The coroner's jury, without hesitation, gave a verdict of accidental death. A son of Mr Arthur Knowles, of Wellington, aged twelve yeats, was run over by an omnibus the other day, and died before he could be removed to the Hospital. At the Oddfellows' and Foresters' fete, at Hokitika, on Easter Monday, the Greymouth men carried off the majority of the prizer. The 200 yards flat race was won by W. j Wright, with Duncan second, and Howe third. The running high leap ended in a tie between Towhill and Wright ; the running hop, step, and leap by Towhill ; the quartermile handicap flat race by Duncan ; the 200 yards handicap Hat race by W. Wright, with Guinness second ; and the 200 y*rds handicap hurdle race by Guinness. The fete appears to have been a most successful one, and was the means of raising a clear sum of £300 towards the inauguration of a Benevolent Asylum in Hokitika. A novel occurrence, and one which creditors at large would 'gladly see more frequent in bankruptcy cases, took place in the Bankruptcy Court, Nelson, the other day, and is thus reported by ttfe correspondent of a contemporary : — Willia'in Akersten was finally examined and discharged, the Trustee reporting that the estate would pay a dividend of 15s. in the pound. The Judge said this was the first bankrupt estate he had seen in New Zealand that paid such a large dividend. .The point chiefly to be noticed is that by the 221 st section of ''The Bankruptcy Act, 1567, ;> provision is made for giving a bankrupt an allowance after discharge in proportion to dividend, provided it be not less than 10s. in

the pound. If the dividend is 10s., the I bankrupt shall be allowed and paid forthwith 5 per tent on the produce of the estate ; if the dividend is 12s. 6d., 7i per cent, is allowed him ; and if 15s. or upwards he is allowed 10 per cent, up to a certain amount. The application for this allowance; was. made in this estate, and it was, of course, granted ; but this question arose : Does this allowance come out of dividend of 10s., 12s, 6d., or 155., or is it out of funds remaining over and above such dividend ? As the Act says, "If the net pi oduce of the estate will pay the creditors 10s. in \he pound," &c, I fancy that such allowance is intended to come off the dividend if it just reaches 10s, The Judge took time to consider the point, which in this case resolved itself into a question of whether the bankrupt should be allowed 7i or 10 per cent. If he is allowed 10 per cent, he will start with something like £240, as his scheduled liabilities were £2,424. This, I suppose, is intended as an inducement for men in difficulties not to ruin their estate by carrying on business too long at a loss. The Euahihe brought to Wellington intelligence that the Duke of Edinburgh will arrive in that city about the 6th of April. A correspondent of the Southern, Cross writes : "At the supper after the ball held at Shortland on the evening of St. Patrick'sday, the health of her Majesty the Queen was not proposed, as is customary on all such public occasions, arfd that Mr Grove having drawn attention to the omission, was answered by a well-known gentleman of that place to the effect that it had been purposely omitted because, under the present circumstances of the colony, neither her Majesty, her advisers, nor the British public in general, deserve any recognition or consideration from the colonists of New Zealand. Thereupon, says our correspondent, there was much dissatisfaction evinced, and some disposition shown by the loyal subjects present to make forcible amendment, but the harmony was restored after some trouble. We can hardly believe such an omission could have taken place at a loyal place like Shortland, but certainly, on reference to the reports, we fail to find any notice of her Majesty's health having been drunk. Several correspondents call attention in the Thames papers to the oversight." The Loyal Alfred Lodge, M.U.1.0.0.'F., at Oamaru, have decided to come under the American Constitution, and are being instructed in the new ritual by a delegate from the American Unity. The funeral of Mr John Jones took place in Dunedin on Saturday week, when upwards of three thousand persons were present. The mining progress of Victoria is summarised in a recent issue of the Mining Record, as follows : —Where eighteen years ago not a man worked, there are now 64,658 miners and 1043 steam-engines engaged on 884 miles of reefs, the total value of plant being estimated in round numbers at £2, 150,432. In alluding to the Northern Division election in Auckland, for the General Assembly, the N. Z, Herald of March 20th says: -"The manner in which the Northern Division election was conducted by the Centralist party will, we understand, be the subject of judicial investigation. At one of the polling stations no less than six persons alleged to have personated voters whose names were on the roll, and to have done so after the oath was put to them. It is moreover said that these same men went straightway and voted for Mr M'llhone a second time at a polling station distant only a few miles. Informations against these six persons— whose real names are kno^n — either have been, or are in course being laid, and it is fully determined to let the law take its course; We are glad of this, for it is high time that the personation practised by certain parties in the Northern Division elections should be put a stop to. It is also said that many of the names polled on the same side at Stokes' Point will be found again polled at the Flagstaff, and that it is utterly impossible that so many bona fide vofces as were polled could be polled at Helensville. We trust that there -will be a careful revision of the whole of the poll returns, and of the signatures, and that in every case where the law has been broken proceedings will be instituted."