THE Grey River Argus. SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 1870.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 623, 15 January 1870, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 1870.

In another column will bo found the Estimates for the current six months, as laid on the table of the County Council by the Chairman. To our mind they are highly uimtisfactoiy, because the construction of not a single mile of new road or track in the County is provided for. The whole revenue of the County is swaJl' wed up in salaries, departmental expenses, aud a few re-voted votes of the last six months. In order to make room for late English news, we withhold further comment until our next. It is quite vi leceasary to republish the County Chairman's opening address, as it contains nothing of general hitevost ; and we can say the same for the first two days' proceedings of the Council. The. tracks up-country arc i-i a, worse state at present U\au they have been at an,y time these las.b two yours, especially above the junction of the Grey and Arnold rivers. The crossing at Langdon's Ferry is becoming more dangerous every day, anil the fording of No, Town Creel;, where it joins tho Grey at the Twulve-mtio Landing, when thuru is the slightest f osh, t.n, is a positive risk .of *'*:.

A Uranch of the Grey is rapidly forming a deep channel along the course of the former Twelvcrmile gujj, and when, the river- riaes \\\c waiter of No Town Creek is backed yip to n, considerable height. At the only available crossing there is. a sheer drop qE nearly four feet in. amqng a lot of snags into the creek, and it is. a mere accident if tho horse does not stumble and tbrwv his rider, 'cspacJaUy as the bottom qf the creek is a bed of quicksand, through M'hich the auimal has to struggle 7 hard to free itself. Mr. Warden Lowe met with an, accident af this sort on Wednesday last, when crossing at this place on his way down from the Ahaura, but he fprtunately escaped with a go,od wotting. Immediately aftpr Mr Lowe passed, Mr Thos. Lavery, of To.tara Flat, who, in qomr pany with four other gentlemen, was returning to the Ahaura after attending the funeral o.f the Jate Mr Jp,hn Bryne, when his hqrse fell and unseated him at the sanje place. Fortunately Mr- Gough, who was mounted on an old stager, was alongside him in a few moments, and succeeded in rescuing Mr Lavery before he was taken fairly into the current of the river. The above is the second accident which Mr Lowe has met with lately. On January 5, when proceeding to. Oa^nptown from Cobden to hold a Court, and when crossing the Grey at Langdon's Ferry (Mr Langdon was not in the boat at the time), the boat, became, unmanageable, and was swept down the river in thp direction of the Arnold. It was going broadside on to a mass of dangerous snags near the junction of the two rivers, when Mr Lowe's horse, which had been given plenty of rope, fortunately touched the bottom. The game little animal made for tb,c shore, and by dint of sheer pulling dragged the boat and its occupants from their perilous situation, not a moment too soon, for in a few yards more the boat would have been on the snags, and from tho state of the river at the time there would have been very little chance of saving any of the persons who were in ifc. Our Hokitika contemporary yesterday attompted to •' dispel a considerable amount of fug," which appeared to exisi here regarding County Council lapsed votes, as conrnerittd apoii by us lately. Tho writer has only displayed his own ignorance, for the parenthetical sentence quoted proves that what we upheld was correct. The death" 'of Mr Richard M 'El wain, at the extreme old age of 97 years, is mentioned in the Auckland papers. The deceased was father to Mr George M'Elwain, who arrived with Governor Hobson in 1840, and was the first goaler appointed in Auckland, The Waivjanui Times has ceased to bo published. A man named William Brodlo has been found drowned at Wanganui The City of Auckland, 750 tons, sailing vessel, has left London, on the voyage to Auckland, with 200 tons of quartz crushing machinery on an improved principle. The now famous Kapitea Creek again stopped the Hokitika coach yesterday. The passengers got across the wire bridge, walked to the Teremakau, where the Grey coach waited for two hours for them. While the coach was waiting the Teremakaii River rose two feet, and continued steadily rising. It is rumored that in consequence of contemplated official changes ii Charleston two gentlemen will be appointed to the Commission of the Peace at Brighton. The result of the recent shooting mat.h between the Greymouth and Hokitika Volunteers was a victory to the former by three points, the totals being- Greymouth, 366 ; Hokitika, 363. The following are the detailed scores of the Hokitika men: — Sergeant Buntin, 47 ; Sergeant Forsyth, 42 ; Volunteer Linstroin, 40 ; Volunteer Skenc, 40 ; Volunteer Munyard, 35 ; Lieut. Chamberlain, 34 ; Volunteer M'Levie, 33 ; Volunteer Learmonth, 32 ; Corporal Stonebridge, 32 ; Private Preshaw, 28.— Total, 363. The Nelson Government has acceded to the wishes of the people of Cobden, and Mr Inspector Shallcrass will be sent dow-i to conduct the enquiry relative to the conduct of the. police force during the late election of members of the Provincial Council, and other matters. Excellent v. me has been made in Otago from the tutu berry. Mr F. Richardson, the maker, considers it should become a regular colonial industry. He considers the tutu "the grape of the country." The Maoris plways evince a great liking for the juice of the tutu, but take care never to swallow the seeds, which are poisonous. The half-yearly meeting of the Paroaßoad Board was held on Wednesday, the 12th instant, at noon, when Mr J. O'Connor was elected Chairman for the ensuing twelve months, in the place of Mr Stansell ; and Mr Colton Treasurer, in the place of Mr Hamilton. There was no other business except of a formal character. It is stated by a Dunec'm paper that the Rev Father Larkin has succeeded in securing an appointment in that Province. An old settler named David Clark was killed at Wakefield, on Saturday last, by a tree falling on him. ' The homeward English mail leaves Greymouth on Monday, overland to Christchurch to catch the s.s. Tararua there. • There has been no business at the Resident Magistrate's Court during the last two days. . The first shipment of dressed flax from Nelson took place on Tuesday last ,per the Hera. The parcel consisted of 23 bales. According to the Southern Cross, at about the very time Te Kooti " was known," at Wellington, to be about to fall into the hands of tho large force sent after him, and M'hich was "within only a day" of him, the Government at AucHand received a totally different story through Waikato. According to this, To Kooti, wi,th a body of Chatham Island escaped prisoners and Ureweras, and a force of 300 men raised for his assistance by Topini te Mamakn (whoever that worthy gentleman may be), if not i,n the ascendant, his sun was by no means set, and further trouble might be loolced for at his hands. Other accounts from Auckland state that Te Kooti had received an inytation^froni Lis Maori. M a J es ty

__ ■ _ , to repair to his Majesty's "■ dominion- 1 ," where he was assured of protection — an invitation which it is said he at once accepted, throwing away his gun, and crying o\;t, "1 have done with fighting ; I shall cast away the giu; for ever and ever. " Kereopa, also, the murderer of poor Volkner, who was pre? sent when Te Kaoti received his invitation from Tawhiao, is, it appears, also to, become, a guest of his Majesty. It is difficult to surmise which of theso conflicting accounts is nearest the truth. One tiring we fear is beyond doubt— that a heavy expenditure is a.till going forward fqr war ].u,rpos,ts, and, apparently, with little result. We suppose something inoro definite will be heard concerning To Kooti's whereabouts, soon, bub a man who has been killed so often, and is still living \\\ th.c flesh, is beyond rnles which apply to ordinary mortals, so there is no saying what may yet be his fate. A fatal accident occurred at Napoleon on the 13th iust. Two men were, felling a tree on their claim, on the Napoleon lead, oppc« site the Camp, when it fell in an opposite direction to that which it was intended it should fall. One of the men named William Counsel!, a native of Glasten, Somersetshire, England, ran in a wrqng: direction, and a branch which was knocked off another tree by the one that was falling, struck him on the head and fractured his skull. He died in about four hours. Counsell was about 40 years of age. On being searched a deposit receipt for Ll7O and a LI note were fquncl on his person. . Messrs M'Carthy and Henry, the newly appointed J.P.s, took their Beat on the Bench at Charleston for the first time on Monday last. The announced picnio at Coal Creek Gardens was again postponed yesterday until the weather improves, At the Thames Christmas Sports the West Coast men carried off nearly all the prizes, the young Twohills, who are well |known in Greymouth and Charleston, securing the lion's share. A cricket match— England v. the Worlds has been played at the Thames, in which England won by 145 runs. On the winning side, focock, jun., made the top score, 74, and Rees 39. :■■... There have been great floods throughout the Otago Province. As the Taieriand other plains have bcJen under water, much damage must have been done to the crops. A young man named Hastie was drowned while attempting to rescue his aged parents. There have also been heavy floods in Canterbury. On both sides of the railway to the Heathcote Valley, the crops are a ll more or less damaged, and the lowlands under water. Considerable damage has been done to the crops along the southern Hue. In the north the crops on heavy lands are greatly flattened, but not so much damage has been done on light lauds. It is proposed to erect a Masonic Hall for Shortland and Graham's Town at a cost of £1500. A most painful cab accident occuirecl in Queen street, Auckland, on the night of the Bth instant, by which a man named Thomas ■ Fitzpatrick Was killed, and his companion, Robert Davidson, very seriously injured. The deceased was about thirty years of age, and went to Auckland a few months ago from the West Coast. He worked for some time as a coach -painter for Mr Currie, of Queen street, Auckland, and it is said was a wheelwright, by trade. An Otago paper states that Mr Garrett, ono of the proprietors of Logan's claim, Ben. digo Gully, whilst riding home at a little after eleven o'clock on Thursday night last, 30th ult., was throvi a through his horse stumbling, and his neck dislocated in, the fall, death ensuing in a very shoit time after the ac'cidi nt. We recently mentioned that his Honor the Superintendent of Nelson intended to visit this district during January. We now learn that he will not be here for some time to come. Apropos of this, a correspondent Bends us the following reason, for the correctness of winch he, not we, vouches : — " At the risk of being disbelieved, I will state my explanation : When Culliford bought the auriferous land at Wangapeka, a company was formed to work it, giving the discoverer £3000, £500 down, and the balance in twelve months. The first amount has been paid, and security given for the other sum. As soon as Mr Domett gave his decision that the land had been illegally sold, some of the diggers posted off and pegged Culliford's claim. His Honor and several other of the Government officials are large shareholders in the company. He thinks by being. on the spot he may possibly save his pocket and those of his brother officials ; in the meantime the Nelson South-west Gold Fields, the mud tracks leading thereto, and the miners, can all go to Hong Kong for what he cares." At a baptismal service in the Wesleyan Church, Manners street, Wellington, the other day, a rather unusual scene was presented to the congregation. A mother and her daughter attended at the church each to have their children baptised, while the mother, grandmother, and great grandmother combined acted as godmother to both children. The happy old dame was Mrs Tutenen, of Mount Pleasant, her daughter. Mrs Edwin Bannister, and her granddaughter. Mrs Isaac Lovelock. The. Auckland annual races came off on the 31st ultimo, and on the 3rd and 4th instant. Kaiser must be regarded as the best horse of tho meeting — at least he won all the races he staited for, so that his owner, Mr Hunt (the lucky man who got the first claim at the Thames), was more fortunate on the present occasion than last year, when he purchased Kaiser in Sydney at a long price, specially for the Thames Meet ng, and did not win a race there. The following arc the results : — Maiden Plate : Maori Weed 1, Lady Florence 2. Epsom Plate : Kaiser 1, XXX 2. Innkeepers' Purse : Nebula 1, Slander 2. Metropolitan Handicap : Kaiser 1, Abbess 2. Garrison Plate: Nebula 1, Numa 2. Second Day- -Town Plate : Nebula 1, Maori Weed 2. Thames Plate Handicap : Moonbeam 1, Or- - 1;.:;Jlo2. Qiiartss-onjs.hers' Purse: Kaiser 1,

Nuina2. Farmers' Plate Handicap : Kaiser 1, Abbess 2. Third Day— Hurdle Race Handicap : Weir uick 1, Harkaway 2. Auckland Handicap : Nebula 1, Orlando' 2, Selling Eacfe : XXXl,Numa2. Handicap Steeplechase : New 1, Highflyer 2. Stewards' Cup : Orlando 1, Slander 2. Conr solation Handicap: Yattarina l.r^The course was the :scenc of a disgraceful outburst Q? rawdjism, commencing in the ordering off the course of two drunken men who would insist upon galloping over the ground already ankle deep in mud ; a section of the crowd iinmeV diately siderl with them, .and most grossly mnlfcreated the gentlemen connected with the. management of the races. In consequence of the foregoing proceedings the hack race had Ijo be dispensed wjth. At the Circuit Court, Hokitika, on Wednesday, Hugo Schuhert was indicted for that he, on the 30th of October, at the Eightmile, did assaiilt and wound one John Tregoning, with the intent to inflict bodily harm upon the said John Tregqning. After a long trial, the jury retired to consider their verdict, and remained in deliberation nearly four hours. On their return into court, they found the prisoner guilty of unlawfully and maliciously wounding, acquitting him of the felony, He was remanded, and next morning, after evidence of previous good character had been given, he was sentenced to three months' imprisonment in Hokitika gaol. Christopher M<Donnougn and Thos. Drew, found guilty of rioting and malicious destruction of property, were brought up for sentence, when witnesses were called to give evidenoe as to the character of the prisoners. M 'Doimaiigh was sentenced to three months' imprisonment with hard labor, and Drew to six months. William Thompson was found guilty of forgery at Greymoufch, and was sentencedto four years'penal servitude. Chas. M'Geachie and Jessie M'Geachie were tried for malicious destruction of property at. Stoney Lead, were found nob guilty, and discharged. On Thursday, Annie Bates was indicted that she did, on the; 31st of October last, at Greymouth, conceal th.c birth of her child, and, after a long trial, the jury ; ac^ quitted the prisoner, who was discharged.- " The following has been received by 1 ihe Manager of the New Zealand Insurance Company in Auckland, from their London agents: — "Yon will be very sorry to hear that we have no news yet of the Matoaka, now 140 days out ; and that ' eighty guineas per cent, is offered for ie-insurance without effect. It is feared that Bhe is burnt, as she had some 305 bales flax on board, which, if not properly dried before shipping, would fire on the voyage to a dead certainty. The cargo is valued at L 76,851. Your line, fortunately, is very small. This is really fearful, and following so soon after the burning of the Blue Jacket, will cause underwriters to decline homeward New Zealand ships, if flax be amongst the cargoes. It appears that there is just a chance that she may have got dismasted, and put into the Falkland Islands'. There is a mail due from there about the sth November. If that does not bring any news, she is, undoubtedly burnt, and all on board (including some 40 passengers) perished. It is, indeed, a very sad and most distressing tale. Some means ought to be adopted to insure the flax being repacked and well dried at the port of shipment, and unless this be done, we shall undoubtedly have more of these disasters. If you can draw attenDion to the matter, you' will be the means of conferring a benefit on the underwriting community in general, and the New Zealand Insurance Company in particular. "