THE Grey River Argus. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1870.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 636, 15 February 1870, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1870.

A rush is reported to have taken place to pome shallow ground in the vicinity of Orwell Greek, near the Slaiightei>yard. Qur corre&» pondent was on his way there yesterday, so we will bo able to give particulars in a day or two. Among the passengers who landed here on Sunday from the Tararua we noticed several plil -known faces whose absence from our midst has for some time been remarked. On making enquiries as to where they had been we found that some had visited the Cape, and thence to England ; others to England only, while other 3 again had been to Calir fornia, &c. ; but that all had come to the conclusion, in spite of their wanderings and the attractions of other places, they could not see where they could better their condition more than by coining back to aud rer maining in the Grey district. A fatal accident took plaoe on Saturday night, at Antonio's Flat. As far as we are informed, a miner, whose name we have not learned, while under the inn uence of drinki fell into a race, and was drowned. The cause of his death being apparent, and no signs of violence being on his person, the police did not consider it necessary to hold an inquest. The class firing of the Greymonth Rifle Corps was commenced yesterday afternoon, at the butts. The first squad was under the command of Captain Hamilton, As all the different squads must complete their firing before the end of March, the range will require to be occupied every day until then. The following appointments are notified in the Gazette of the. sth inst :— Caleb Whitefoord, Esq., /.P., to be a Resident Magistrate for the, district of Ne.ls.on South-West Gold Fields j and Thomas Brunuer, Esq. , to be Sheriff for the district of Nelson vice B. Walmsley, Esq., resigned. An accident occurred in the Ahaura river on Saturday morning. Mr J.uues Hayes, draper, Napoleon, was fording the river at the usual place, and when in the middle of the stream his horse slipped on a boulder and fell. The near side stirrup gave way and Mr Hayes was pitched off and carried some distance down the river, but he fortunately recovered himself ai^cl reached the Ahaura > none the worse, with the exception of getting a good ducking and losing his stirrup. As it was known from the list of passengers published in our Extra, on Sunday that Mr T. A. S. Kynnersley was on board the Tararua several of his friends took advantage of the steamers Waipara and Dispatch going out and paid him a personal visit. Mr Kynnersley looks stouter than when he left, and improved altogether in appearance as well as health. This latter benefit derived fro.n his trip to England will be a . source of pleasure to bis very numerous friends iv New Zealand. He purposes going om to Wellington at oi\ce, aud we hope when he is there that the Government will appoint such an able Resident Magistrate in a district where his acknowledged abilities will find ample scope. A miner named Anthony Convey met with a serious accident whilst working in his claim near tlie township at Old Noble's, on the 11th in^fc. He was working in the main tunnel, which is between. 13ft and I4fb high, securing the roof, when by some means «a heavy piece of timber became detached and fell Co,nvey was looking up at the time, and the piece of wood struck him on the nose, completely smashing the boues. The sufferer proceeded to Napoleon in search of surgical assistance, and- on examination Dr' Donevan succeeded in extracting several splinters of bone, one of which was a quarter of an inch long. The stand-pi2>e at the corner of Mackay and Boundary streets, for the supply of the fire engines with vv.iter liaq proved a complete success, and its example ought to be more generally followed through the town. Not only should the back streets accept these cbeap and efficacious assistants to the labors of the firemen, but the front otreet ought also to avail themselves of their aid, inasmuch as the expense is trifling and the supply they give is, f.oin the material formation of the ground, inexhaustible. The pipe in Boundary street has Lad a Douglas pump affixed to it, and this has also proved most useful. "VVe would invite a visit to it from owners of properties, for we believe when they see its utility they will not hesitate to protect themselves in a similar manner. Were they more general ly distributed through tlie town, a sufficient piessurc of water could be brought to bear upon, any fire at its commencement that would prevent it from getting ton strong a. hold as not to be managed by the Brigade. The adjourned inciting of the Grey River Hospital C'oinm.ittqe was held last evening, at Gilmcr's Hotel, present;— Messrs itevell (in the chair), Whitefoord, King, Perkins, Waiter, Moss, Arnott, Gilintsr, Kennedy, and iStrike. The minutes of the previous meetings were read and confirmed . Mr Moss tendered his resignation as Hon. Socrer tary, and Mr Winter was elected in his stead, a c>r<lial vote of thanks being passed to the former gentleman for his p^st services. Tlie TruiuiiijO! iirki.pwlul{,rd Lav.ng lu^-ivnd sub-

sci jptions to the amount of LI 12 J3s 6d ; and from the sale of vegetables, L 8 2s 6d. He also stated that he had sent circulars to the present holders of up-country subscriptionlists, requesting them to be forwarded at once. The Vis'ting-^pmmittes r«ported chat ; there Were' ag^pafflS^lffSßie^fi^n^-'-tVTISI that generally tne pondition of the institution was satisfactory. The accounts for the month, amounting to L 328 19s sd, wore laid on the table and passed. The Visiting Committee for the month are Messrs ferkins, Revell, and Strike. The resignation of Mr Middleton was accepted. A letter was re. ceived from an inmate in the Hospital, complaining of certain grievances. Referred to the Visiting Committee to enquire and re^port. The other business was unimportant. A billiard match, 1000 up, for LIQ a-side, took place last night at the Albion Hotel, between Martin and Buckingham, the forme r giving his opponent 150 points. The match was won by Buckingham, the scores at the end being-— Buckingham, 1000; Martin, 995. For some time past we have always noticed that manufactured goods for mantelpieces, tables, &c, of uedar were be}ng imported from Sydney and Melbourne, and we wondered why advantage was not taken of the valuable remu or red pine grown upon the Coast, whose qualities seemed to be far better known at home than abroad. Our looal workmen, however, appear at last to have turned their attention to thr's description of work, and produced an article very much superior to the imported ones. A satisfactory proof of this can be seen at the shop of Messrs Watson and Wickes, where the goods manufactured show a capability of polish aud finish equal to the best maple or mahogany. It would not surprise us if before long a wide demand was experienced at the different ports on the Coast for the remu. and outgoing vessels take it as a staple article of export. By the departure of Mr James Middleton, on a temporary visib to England, Greymouth will for a time lose the presence of oue of its oldest settlersf and who has the high honor of being ranked as one of its most estimable ones. In order to mark their appreciation of his merit, a few of his friends determined to present him with a testimonial before leaving, and accordingly met together on Saturday evening for that purpose. The. testimonial was most artistically illuminated by Mr Hindmar§h, and was to the following effect :— " James Middleton, Esq. Dear Sir,— On the eve of your departure upon a visit to the Old Country, we take the opportunity of expressing our esteem aud friendship for you ; at the same time regretting your temporary absence from, amongst us, which we assure you will be much felt in our community. Wishing you a safe and pleasant journey home and a speedy return to Greymouth, we are yours," &c, &c. ; then follows the signatures. Mr Lapham acted as chairman, and proposed the health of Mr Middleton in suitable terms. This was heartily responded to, and after spending a very pleasaut hour or two the meeting broke up.