THE Grey River Argus. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1870.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 631, 3 February 1870, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1870.

The Westlaad portion of tha English mail was landed at hokitika 011 Tuesday forenoon, but the Greymouth portion could not be picked out before the fixed starting-time of Cobb's coach. It was consequently left behind, and did not arrive in town until last night at .7.35 o'clock. Why the coach could uot be detained ail hour" to bring on the English mail is a mystery which the authorities in Hokitika alone can explain. If the Hokitika portion of the mail had been landed here, we feel certain that not only would the coach have been detained, but an extra conveyance would have been put on, if uecessary, at the expense of the County.' But it was only the Ureynvmth mail, and could wait, as everything else appertaining to ih has to do in Hokitika. The letters were delivered last night, but fche English newspapers were sent on to Christchurch, the excuse being that there is now no mail, agent on board the ocean stemaer to separate the mails before arrival. I We are privately informed by Mr Lahman that as soon as possible after the prorogation of the County Council, he will give his constituents an opportunity of saying whether, as their representative, he is worthy of their confidence. The time for sending in tenders for the Arahura road i 3 extended until to-day, at 4 p.m. «Mr Wbitefoord, the newly -appointed R.M. and Warden for the Nelson Grey District, arrived by Cobb's ooach from Hnkibika yesterdaj'. A total eclipse of the moon wis ulauly visible at Port Chalmers on Tuesday morning, 25fch ult. The obscuration began at 20 minutes to- one, and gradually increased until the monn was quite invisible. The darkDess conbinned for about an hour and a half ; and by half-past two o'clock the moon again shone out in full splen lor. Whe-i the eclipse began tbe night was beautifully clear, so that spectators had a good view of the phenoI raenon. The weather yesterday, at the different ports in New Zealand, was telegraphed here as of a very mixed and contrary nature. For ! instance, at Napier, light S.E. breezes, with heavy swell, preva led, whereas at Wanganui there 'vere experienced strong N.W. winds, I As a rule, N. W. winds prevailed on our side I of the Coast, and south-easterly ones on Ili3 east side. All the bars are reported in good ; condition, jukl the roadstead of Tiuiaru as very calm. At the Resident Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, before W. H. Revell, Esq., R.M , John White, for being drunk and- disorderly, was fined LI or 4S hours' imprisonment. The same prisoner was charged with assaulting and resisting a constable in the execution of his duty. He assaulted Constable Keating, tore his coat off, knocked his hat Off, and kicked him several times about the legs. He was sent to gaol for one webk, with hard labor. John M M?owall was charged under I the Vagrant Act, on the information,^ Peter Purcell, with obtaining goods by false pretences.. ; Tt appeared that ho went to toe shop of Skoglnnd and Puroell, representtd himself as a storekeeper at No Name, ordered ' goods amounting to L 24, as'ied for the bi.l, which was given him, when he said he-had gold to sell, iin.l would pay for tho,' goods when tho Bank npeuud. He gob a coat for hiinsalf, whicb he put on, then invited the shopman out to lmvo a driiik, and walked away. When the sh.iyman returned he. was sent lifter t!i« pris-ai t to g«t payment for the coab, vas overtaken at Boundary Street, and bruu»hb l>ack ttftho shop, where he-wai

asked to show something to lead to the belief that he had money or gold at the Bank. He then pulled out a few dwts,. of gold, saying that was all he had, aud offered to pay for the awe of the coat during the few minutes he had had it on. This was refused, and lie .was given., into, v custody. Constable Flannigan searched the prisoner, but found no money. He made enquiry at all the Bank 8, and found that the prisoner had no account at either of them. The prisoner now saiil he was willing to pay for the goods whenever he got the money that somedigcers at No Name owed hi™- He was sentenced to 14 days' imprisonment, -with hard labor. Jas. Hicks, for selling ' fi"h without a hawker's license, was fined 10s and costs.'— On the civil side of ] the Court, his Worship gave judgment in the adjourned case Dale v. Atkinson. He said this was an action to recover the amount of a prnmissory note made by A. Tew to W. Dale, and endorsed by Atkinson The points of law raised were, principally, whether due notice of dishonor had been, given, and ] whether due consideration had been received for the amount of the bill. He held that sufficient notice had been given, and the defendant knew the kind of bill he was endorsing. J udgmeut would be for the amount claimed, with costs. Greymouthi Grid Mining Co. v. Frost— ln this case the summons, which was served on the wrong person, was enlarged, for proper service. . A number of small debt cases were heard. -Yesterday, there wis no police business, with the exception of one person brought up supposed to be 0: unsound mind. A man named W. M. Smith, 2G years of age, and a native of Banbury' England, was drowved in Lake Wanaka, Otago. on the 11th ult. We learn from undoubted authority that a call has been moderated to and accepted by the Rev. Joshua M'lntosh, Lyttelton, for the Presbyterian congregation here. We believe Mr M'lntosh and family will arrive s ime time during next week. A member of .the Wairo rifle corps named George Watts was drowned in the Patea river (Wellington), on the 12th January. The agreement between Mr Proudfoot and the Otago Government for the construction of the Port Chalmers and Dunedin Railway was signed on the 25th ult. The required works will b 3 commenced in six weeks. We are informed by a gentleman, a passsnger per Gothenburg, from Melbourne, that hs saw and spoke to Mr Kynnersley, late Commissioner on the gold fields here, immediately on his arrival in Melbourne. Ma Kynnersley only remained two days in Victoria, taking his departure for South A us-* tralia, where he intends making a short stay, at the termination of which he intends to return to the West Coast. Yesterday, workmen were busily engaged i.-iving a stand-pipe at the junction of Boundary, Mackay, Gresson, and Herbert streets. The blocks of buildings in that neighborhood were unprotected in case of fire, and this p pc ! has been driven deep enough to; give a neverfailing and inexhaustible supply of water. A pump will be fixed on the top for ordinary use, with a connection made so that the suction-hose of the fire engine can be screwed on to it, and the engine set to work in a few moments. The piping was supplied gratia by Mr E. Wickes, and the cost of driving will be paid by the residents in the neighborhood. Should this experiment prove successful, similar pipes ought to be fixed by the owners of property at all the blocks of buildings in the back streets, as it is no use waiting until the Borough Counoil is in a position to undert ike the wcrk. Last night the Fire Brigade turned out the small engine, screwed the suction hose to the pipe, and proceeded to test its capabilities. Although at low tide water came freely, and was thrown over the roofs of the two-storey buildings at the junction of the streets. Surely after this test the residents will not lose time in haying similar pipes driven at the spots above indicated. I The late storm in Otago did a great deal of mischief at the Blue Spur. The water-races were so much injured that it will take several weeks to repair them. The tail race of the Perseverance Company in Gabriel's Gully was destroyed for a length of move than three chains, and a number of their boxes containing a quantity of gold were swept away by the flood. A native report reached Wangamii on Tuesday last, that Te Kooti a few days since entered a kairiga, near Mangataiitari, and killed most of tlie women anil children in it, the men being absent. The inurdtred people belonged to the Ngatirauka 1 liapu. This deed has added, it is believed, this hapu to the list of Te Kooti's pursuer?. A correspondent afc Ltosanna Terrace, Maori Creek, sends us tho following :— The funeral of the miner John Fahey, wlio was killed at I ltosanna Terrace- on Friday ni^hb, took place on Monday, and was. attended by a. large number of miners and business people, many ; uf the good-hearted diggers coniiag some , miles to show a last meed of respect to the remains of the poor fellow who met so untimely a death. Their sympathy was apparent, and their respect was manifest from the good order, respectable appearance, largeness of the assemblage, and their refraining from all work in their claims. Aa the solemn procession passed through the township of ! Maori Creek all houses were olosed. The morning was very wet, and many thought that the burial could not take placf, but the evening became fine, and- everything was carried out with satisfaction. Coming to the Eight-mile Creek it looked high, rushing with'Tapidity and violence, 5 and many thought there was danger in crossing ib/but a ford was found, and in walked with nerve and coolness, bearing their sorrowful burden upon their shoulders, tlia men of indomitable qualities — though hard of hand yet afcoufc and tender of heart. While on ; this ; subject, I must refer to the feeling oi- displeasure, which was quite general, upon the non-arrival of thjb' coroner. It was pretty -well known rthat; 011 Saturday . morning' at daybreak the Camp received notice of, the accident,; when a messenger was despatched- at,ouc& to Greymottt'h with the -intelligence. SThere was.iio appi'ttruiiee of theTffieiul on tho day reform!

to, but on Sunday he was full}' expected. Again he did not come, 80 the strong feeling prevalent among the people was to bury the I deceased, unpleasantness arising ' from the . contused state of his body. Amid general dissatisfaction, deference was given to ths order from the Camp that the body be not .'removed, aiid a message came late in the evening that the coroner would l>e next day in attendance. The *coroner did not attend next day. lam thus minute inpartioula.rs, because- 1 have heard it . freely coinineuted upon that this shameful neglect took p 7 ace not alone in this special case,, but in others that have occurred in this district. I overheard a well-intentioned individual remark' that Sunday wa*. no day to be present, but I took the liberty to observe that to bury the dead was a work of mercy, that it was in no way inconsistent with the teachings of Christianity to give iv attention, or a desecration of the day in helping to carry out the 'work. 1 do not know what the law . strictly requires, but on these matters it should be unmistakable and imperative in such trying emergencies. It is a shameful state of things in a Christian country that a corpse should remain for days. for proper inspection and enquiry until it absolutely becomes necessary to iuter it. T\> sa^ the least of all this, it is a disgrace to humauity that suoh conduct should be tolerated.