Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume VII, Issue 512, 27 April 1869, Page 2

It is satisfactory to find that the citizens have taken up the movement for fie formation of the Grey district into a separate County, and that t^e question is now likely soon to be tested upon its me; its. A requisition was yesterday very extensively signed in town for presentation to his Worship the Mayor, requesting him to convene a public meeting on an early day to consider the advisability of petitioning the Assembly for the abovenamed object. At a private meeting of the provisional coirm ; tbee : held at Johnston's Melbo'?rt?e Hotel, last evening, the roemoi'al was presented to the Mayor, aud he convened a meeting in terms of it, to be he T d at Gilmer's Hotel on Friday eveuiug nest, at eight oWcck-J The late Ens^a. La' In, who was murdered with his wife and family by Te Kooti, was a native of Penrjn- 1 ),. Cornwall, and. his wife was a native o* Penzance, Cornwall. Her maiden name was Jane Carbis. The unfortunate couple have been Jiving at Mohalra about thiitejn years. The late Mrs Lavin has a sister in Ballarat, Victoria. A case of suicide i«j' thus reported by the Auckland Weekly Herald : — " Capt. Watson, of the barque Prince Alfred, which arrived on Thursday last, reports an extraord" lary .-. of suicide by a ; •ng r. . who v -,

passenger by his vessel from Sydney to this port. William Rybuni, a respectably-dressed young man, a_bout 35 years of age, was the name of the unfortuuate man. He was last seen alive about eight o'clock qn Wednesday evening, and was, perfectly sober at the time. - On the following morning, as he did not make his appearance at the breakfast table, a search was made for him, and on proceeding to his cabin, it was discovered that he had taken the whole of his luggage, &c, and jumped overboard in the night. The deceased also took a splendid gold watch and sill his money with him. Captain Watson is unable to give any reason for his mysterious disappearance, as he generally seemed in good spirits and health. The deceased was observed by the crew to be hanging over the rail, looking at the sea, during Wec'iesday afternoon, but he said nothing." At the Resident Magistrate's Court on Saturday, before J. Greenwood. Esq., J.P., George Scott, for being drunk and disorderly, was fined 10s or 12 hours' imprisonment ; and for resisting the police £1 or an additional 24 hours' imprisonment. William Wiggins, charged with the larceny of a watch was remanded until Monday. Allau Heaps, for being drunk and incapable, was fined ss. Yesterday, before C. C. Schaw, Esq., KM., William Wiggins, on remand, was brought up on three charges of stealing £2 13s in silver, and apparel of the value of £4 15s from a dwelling-house, and a silve." watch of the value of £3 from a store. He pleaded guilty, and on each charge was sentenced to three months' imprisonment with hard labor. Another disastrous fire has occurred in Auckland, this time in Wakefield street. Eight houses were destroyed. The following are given by the Weekly Herald as the mll suranees upon the property : — "Mr Walters' brick bakery, New Zealand, L 20 0; Mr Thome's store, New Zealand, L 30 0; Mr Plumley's house, Kew Zealand, L 20 0; the Charlemont Hotel, Liverpool and London, LSOO or L 60 0; Mr M'Kerras' cottages, Liverpool and London ; Protestant Hall, Royal, L3OO or L4OO. If we estimate the value of the house property and furniture destroyed, we should guess it at between L6OOO and L7OOO, to cover which there seem to be insurances to the amount of about LI7OO, leaving a loss of at least L 5000." On Saturday evening and Sunday morning we were visited by a heavy gale from the N.E. and N.W., which did some little damage to various buildings, chimnies coming in for a large share of destruction. Several large panes of glass were blown in, including the windows of the Union Bank and the store of Messrs Hamilton and Nichol, Mawhera Quay. The flag-staff and fence at the Post Office were brought to the ground, as were also several other fences in the back streets. The heavy downpour of rain which accompanied the gale flooded the river considerably both on Sunday and yesterday, but last evening it had fallen to its usual level. Throughout last night heavy rain continued to fall; with very little appearauce of the weather clearing. Mr G. S. Sale was entertained to dr,irerin the Cafe de Paris, Hokitika. on Saturday evening, by a large number of gentlemen, on the eve of his departure for England. The health of the guest was drank with great enthusiasm, aud throughout the proceedings there were numerous expressions of regret at Mr Sale's departure, and sincere wishes for his speedy retun. We sincerely join m these wishes, for Wesfcland can ill afford to loose the services of such able men as Mr Sale. It is very naturally anticipated in Napier, that an exodus of population will soon set in. The abrupt withdrawal of men of all classes from their daily occupations, the consequeni. deprivation of all comfort, cessation cf business, and alavna to their families, is more than most people can stand ; and already many look out for what they caunot obtaiu here— a place of rest. Colonial experience and capital are often turned to good account in England. An article in one of the Victorian papers lately instanced a number of cases of successful men in the colonies having returned to England at? d n>et with increased success in their various professions or trades. Mr Childeis was c ; .ted as an instance of what a Victorian le^isla-ior had become in the British Par'tament. Mr Carpenter's doings on the Stock Exjhange, and Messrs Spiers and Pond, who left the "Ca'e de Paris" of Melbourne, and made such a change in the railway refreshment departments over all England, were also coiJinented upon, as having risen .from colonial experience now exercised in fields of greater magnitude. We notice by a late English paper, the Brighton Observer, thai the West Coast has contributed somewhat to the list. That paper has given a description of a new hotel opened in the metropolis, in OxHord street, under the name of the Australasian an»l New Zealauder." Mr James Kebble, who was well known as the proprietor of the London Hotel and Concert Hall, Hokitika, in which he was very successful, returned to London about fifteen months ago, and entered upon this large speculation in catering to the British public with a concert hall, described as being on an extensive and attractive scale. The costumes of the Maoris who congregated in Nelson to do honor to the Prince are thus described by the Evening Mail : — "The Maoris in particular are mustering very strong and it really is worth while to stroll through the streets in order to observe the chs\rnriug variety of costumes that is presented to the view. We met just now a strange looking couple ; in the front was one of the lords of creation arrayed in a gorgeous attire, a bright blue coat with brass buttons, a pJaid wais'toat in which was combined all the co^rs of the rainbow, and the remains of two pairs of trousers, that is to say on one leg was one pattern, on the other a totally different oue. The creature's feet were destitute of covering, but the shaggy looking head surmounted by a 'belltopper' of a somewhat battered appearance. An ivory-mounted cane was iv his hand and as he strutted along he every now and then deigned to cast a g' nee at the lady who followed at a rc-

spectacle distance staggeing under the double load of a baby on the back, and an enormous kit of pipis in her hand. Her attire was beautifully simplg, consisting solely of a pipe and a blanket, her toilette evidently never cost her a moment's anxiety, she being one qf those who obey to the letter the com: mand 'take-no heed of what ye shall wear.' The dressing of the hair was a marvel of simplicity, aud wh ; lst it -could not have era: plo3":ed half the time, that it would have been necessary fy> bestow upon ringlets, jfc was A'astly superior in appearance to the unsightly chignon wherewith the ladies of the present day see fit to disfigure themselves. The dresses of the little capper-colored imps •Kith, whom the streets swarm just now, are of a character well adapted for the pursuit of athletic exercises, the folds of drapery not being of a sufficiently voluminous nature to interfere with the, free use of the limbsAltogether we feel heavily indebted to the Prince's intended v.s.it for an opportunity of studying the m.anuers. and customs of the Maori race. " The Westport Times states that the Separation petition may be said to he in favorable progression. In Westport last week it went the round of the main street, and about 200 signatures were obtained, there being scarcely a dissenting voice heard on the, subject. Mr Adam Porter has also obtained between 400 and 500 signatures in the Upper Buller and Lyell districts, which he has forwarded to town. We learn that equal success has been met with at the Caledonian, Addison's, and the adjoining places, and there is now no doubt about the petition carrying with it to the hands of the Premier from 3000 to 4000 signatures. . The petiti >n forms for signatures sent to the Separation Committee at Charleston, from Westport, have, aiys the Herald, been numerously signed, and will be returned to the Chairman at Westport in a few days. Already there has been 600 signatures obtained, and it is anticipated that from 200 to 300 more w 111 be. secured. This number will represent at least three-fourths of the adult male population residing in Charleston and district. , The following are the details of the ghootiug of Te Kooti by a native named "Heta, and contributed to the Hawkers Bay Herald by a correspondent : —On Saturday Te Kopti's band attacked the pah (Huke), which was garrisoned by Rutene, the policeman ; Heta, a very fine native ; Rupihana, a son of Paul Rerepu ; and three old men, besides women and children. They held out bravely against great odds. On Sunday morning a message came from Te Kooti offering them their lives, &c, if they would surrender. He was unfortunately believed, and the pah opened to the enemy. On being admitted one man stepped forward, announced himself as Te Kooti, shook hands all round, and ordered all the guns to be handed over. All did so, with the exception of Heta, who said — "If I give, you my gun you will kill me. " Upon this Te Kooti pointed his own gun at him, which Heta knocked aside, at the same time raising his own rifle and firing. The charge lodged in Te Kooti's body, and he fell instantly. His followers thereupon shot Heta, Rutene, aiid others. . Rupihana was. shot through the body aud fell with the rest, close to the entrance of the pah ; but during the confusion caused by Te Kooti being carried away, he managed to crawl aside, roll down the cliff into the river, and hide on the banks till night, when he crawled to the big pah, into which he was admitted. He is now under the care of Dr. Russell, who has hopes of his reove-y. The above is the statement made by Rupihana and by the women, examined separately. That Te Kooti Ml shot there can be no doubt ; but it is just possible he may only have been severely wounded. The stoiy, however, goes that the Hau-baus took the Government whale-boat and carried a dead body out to sea, that it might not be seen and recognised, and fired a volley on their return.