intestate Estates.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 647, 12 March 1870, Page 2

intestate Estates.

♦_: (To the Editor of the Orey\River Argus*) Sir— l ' have read : a letter 1 ' which appeared in your issue of the 3rd mat., from the Curator of Intestate Estates, in which that gentleman takes exception to that portion of my letter dated 20th February, with reference to the payment of- the funeral expenses of the late William ' Counsel!,; of NapoleoD. I may state that the delay which has occurred on my part in not answering the curator's letter, has been caused in consequence of my absence in the country. I will not trespass on your space further than to enable me to state the actual facts of the case as they occurred. .•-■•■ The deceased was killed on 13th Jan,, and on 21st Feb., or nearly six weeks afterwards, a cheque for L 7 anjiyed from Hokitika, to pay the undertaker for making' the coffin, digging the grave, and other funeral expenses. As L 2 out of 1 these L 7 have been the cause of all this disturbance, I will explain here, what these L 2 were charged for. The township of .Napoleon is situated; on a high hill, with precipitous sides, which are covered with dense bush and timber. The place where the corpse lay was difficult of access, even to a man without any incumbrance, and it was found impossible to take the coffin to the* spot without cutting a track, and it was for, cutting this track the L 2 was charged. This was not mentioned in the original contract, which was for ( * making a coffin and digging a grave." The. police officer in oharge Cjf th,Q distnct consented to act . as the curator's agent, and he received instructions to realise on deceased's property, and trainsri mit the proceeds, without any deduction, 1 to Hokitika, which he did. There was nothing mentidned in the instructions about burying the man in a proper manner. . Jf the curator had sufficient confidence in his agent to empower him to take charge of < the property in his (the curator's name, why did he not authorise his agent to hury the man decently, especially when,- as it appears, he had the power to do? If the deceased had died in absolute poverty, the police would have interred the body ; but because, the person, in this case, happened to leave a considerable amount of property behind him, his remains must either be buried by charity (which I still maintain has,

been done), or they must remain above ground for three months, or until -such time as official red-tapeism had satisfied itself that it was necessavy "that something should be dore in the matter." After waiting for over a month for his in<ney, the carpenter applied for it to Ihe person who employed him (the miator's agent), and after the legal routine he - would have^tb go through before he could obtain payment had been explained to tc him, '.he naturally objected to spend, perhap, L2O to recover L 7, consequently he applied for a summons against the police officer, when that gentleman — a stranger to deceased — paid the money out. of his own pocket to avoid incurring further expense, so that, after all, the decased was buried by a stranger. The curator, at Hokitika, may possibly take a different view of this matter to that taken by a poor man waiting for his money at Napoleon, but that, of course, is foreign to the subject. I will not attempt to discuss tha legal aspects of tho ' case, because I know nothing about them. Ignorant people are told to speak well of the law and of the dead, and it it is just as well for ignorant people to take that advice, and Bay nothing of either, except what is good, if they can possibly avoid it. But there is one other fact, to which I may as well draw attention. The cheque which the curator states he forwarded from Hokitika, on Feb. 17, to defray the expenses of a funeral which tookplace on Jan. 14, arm el at Napoleon in due course, but after being taken all over the district no person could be found to cash it — because it was crossed, I believe — so, as it was valueless for all practical purposes, it has, T understand, been sent back whence it came, and the police officer is laying out of his money still. The curator wants to know how I became possessed of the knowledge that deceased had other oroperty besides that which is already in h : s hands ? My information came from Ids asrent at Napoleon. That gentleman knowing I had an extensive acquaintance amongst the miners in this district asked me if I knew any other person bearing the same name as deceased, as the curator had informed him (the agent) that a man cf the same name had Borne money in one of the Hokitika banks, or words to that effect. With respect to the small fee which is charged for permission to inspect tho curator's books at his office, Hokitika, I must say that a person would need to have a very great interest indeed at stake before he would travel such a distance as it is from this place to Hokitika for such a purpose. Speaking for myself, /if I thought my travelling expenses would .be recognised as a charge on the estate I ■would have no objection to pay the half-a-crownfee.. . In conclusion I would wish it to be distinctly understood that, in drawing attention to. this subject, any remarks which I may have made have not been offered in an intentionally disrespectful sense to Mr Abbott, because I am certain that any one who has ever had occasion to transact any business with that gentleman personally, cannot have any .other feeling but one of respect for him. lam, &c., YOTJR OWN COKEBSPOIfDENT. Ahaura, March 10.

-Far continuation of news see Fourth Page.)

mouth.

from I^PWM^Sry accounts are being received daily from Coromandel. We are pleased to have to record that the principle of amalgamating small companies and forming a larger company is becoming adopted on the gold field in general, and we have no doubt but that it will lead to very important results when it J3 brought to bear over the whole district. At present a claim of even six i men's ground, except very rich, will ) scarcely pay the heavy expenditure neces'Jjsai.ry before mining operations can be got thoroughgoing order, and when we A can so well see that a number of saiall pieces of ground can be worked at a very little extra expense over what it costs to develop a small company, it will readily be seen that it will be an immense saving t«> amalgamate and make the main shaft or main tunnel to do the work that is now done in a very inferior manlier by a number of shafts.and a number of drives. Then, again, the saving on tha'item of management will be a very important one. We learn that the Harp pf Erin, Peep o'l)ay, Union, Golden Age, and Morning Star have been amalgamated, and will now be worked in a profitable manner. The position of these claims is extremely favourable for amalgamation, as the preciptous character of the range will give a very low level from the creek. Somd; of the lodes opened in the company'a^ronnd have averaged 4oz to. the ton. There are. a few claims in the same neighborhood which could be profitably worked aa one company, and further up the creek there are others which could adopt the same system with advantage to themselves and all concerned. Now, that the system has been commenced it will T)« pretty generally adopted.— Thames Advertiser, 23rd Feb. , . • Below .ia an. instance^ of the policy adopted towards the Thames by a ccr r tain clique in Auckland. We have heard numberless complaints lately of the impossibility of inducing Auckland shareholders to pay calls, and in our ignorance ;we attributed it to the state of impecunioaity they had fallen in with the common. Thames lieges. It would appear, however, that this holding back is part .and parcel of a concerted plan born of Auckland brains for the regeneration of tin. . Thames *! diggings," and a plan, moreover, of which the Aucklanders are not -ashamed, or else why should the following remarks have' been made in a liftd.tone of voice, yesterday, in a legal office, Grahamstown,' by :two persons j of whom one was a clerk,' and the other a lowset, sruidy-couiplexioned individual, who shall be nameless for the present, but who is well-known as being a member of a powerful Auckland clique : —Clerk: "Really, Mr — —^, you are all behind with your calls." Mr- — — : "And what is more, Bir, I don't intend to be anything else. "We have decided not to pay any more' calls, thiuking. it better jx> wind the Thames field up and then begin afresh." — L)aily l .Boutiicrn Gross, 25th Feb. --. ....-..' . ;■■ •■ : . : .'. I any sorry to have to record a still greater/ decrease in the- prosperity of mining affairs at the Thames. . The causes which -nave led to this result I have already touched upon. The unaccountable way fa which shares -in really good claims have, lately gone down in the market fairly puzzles everyone. The last reliable quotation for a lot of Long Drj yes, sold, a few days ago, is abont L3B each, I and as yet there are* no signs of a rise. Few claims are paying expenses,; The s greater" nnmber. are not worked at all, white. the "golden" ones yield splendid dividends. ;TMs state, of things; cannot last much longer ; the results of. early • jniamatiajjement and scrip gambling are playing, themselves out, and the crisisnow experienced will certainly be followed by a steady improving market. It has been found .out that in most cases the working expenses of claims amount to some L 3 per ■ .tß# of crushed quartz ; and as .the gold '■ .averages in value from L 2 iis toL2i4s6di : per oz., it follows that unless' the stone;, yields more than an ounce to the ton, it is: not worth crushing ! In Victoria I haVe: seen claims paying upon crushinga of 4 or Sdwts to the ton. A very marked difference; and yet .the. depth of reef and; the difficulty attending the extraction of: "ifce'golddonotappear.to me to be an}'-; 4hing like that experienced in Australia. '■ ..There seems to be : no reason why the Long. Drive .shares, 'for instance, should "hiaye gone down in price so suddenly in the market, from LlOO a sharevit- was sthree months . ago to" : its • figure.- •. fl?he*prdspeocs ofthe reef -have .shewn, an - abundant quantity of stpneiqr. spuieyears to come of an undoubtedly equal richness^ VA meeting, of shareholders was ; callißd 4 : fe\f (Liiya, ago to Attempt ta throw light * upon the 'reason : whyy but they failed ty --611014 thedeaired object, and the meeting ended in bitter recriniinatipns 1 between some of those most interested. — Oorresi pendent of Lyttelton Times. The utterly rotten system -of-manage-jment: pursued at .•the'tThameßj.- is? com- • mentad upon by the Auckland Herald in tiae fdilowihg terms :-^it wotild 'be diflreult to point t* an instance of greater and ,; : more ; continuous r mismanagement: of an ■; .industrial pursuit. than., the. Thames Gold . Field affords. A. few, surpassingly rich, " and a c< >n3iderable number of really very " gi>6& claims caused a very large area of igronnd to. be : taken:^^.-up.; under miners' rights. And everybody affected to believe that their own claim i might turn out to be little, if at 'all, inferior t6 Huut!s, the Golden Crown, or the Long Drive;. Shares were sold and bought on the strength of this faith at very high prices;. But next to nothing had' been done to test the ground, and ao prove its richnesjs or poverty. Wages were constantly paid by the purchasers, but for work, in many cases, which ought to have been, but which in reality was. not done. The shareholders saw they, were- utterly helpless for good, and were heing fleeced as effectually as sheep in .the hands of a practised shearer. Large' sums of money were thus paid away for ho profitable or productive work.j As ,mnoh good would have accrued to the payers of theße wages if thoße t«) whom they paid them had been occupied in baling the Hauriki Gulf dry, ■..•...'....