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Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 648, 15 March 1870, Page 2

Information was received iv town yestei - day that a meeting of the Christchnrch'shareholders of the Grey River Coal and Railway Compamy had been held at the former place, and that a communication had been sent to the directors Lere blaming them severely for their action in cancelling the memorandum previously agreed to, and stxtinixthat nearly the whole of Christchurch capital had been subscribed. We hear that one of the claims on the Sfconey Lead, in washing up last week, produced 130 ounces of amalgam. To-morrow evening sweeps will be drawn at Maxwell's Cosmo] ,olitan Hotel on the principal events of the forthcoming race meeting. The sacce evening two horses will be raffled at Johnstone's Melbourne Hotel. We are requested to remind intendiug passengers for Sau Francisco, that the s.s. John Perm, leaving this day, affords an opportunity by which passengers can join the ocean-going steamer Wonga Wonga at at Auckland. The agents, Messrs D. Girdwood and Co., can grant every information with respect to this route. We understand that the general manager of the Company, H- H. Hall, Esq., proceeds by the Wonga Wonga, and on hfa return, through tickets for the old country will be issued by the various offices. We notice the fares are even more moderate than was anticipated. A Mr William Reid has committed suicide at Motutapu, Auckland, by shooting himself in the head with a revolver. The Coroner's jury found a verdict that the deceased died from pistol-shot wounds, inflicted by his own hand, while he was in a state of temporary insanity. Inconsequence of the heavy fall of rain on Friday last, the traffic to the diggings was stopped, and the Ahaura was nearly as high as it was during the late flood. Mr Spiers, a shareholder in Evans' leasehold at Orwell Creek, had a narrow escape from drowning. While, crossing Nelson Creek during the tats flood, he mistook the proper ford, arid kept too high up the stream, and before he was aware of it, he got into the deep water at the confluetcs of the bye-wish which comes round from the Grey when the river is high, and Nelson Creek ; fortunately the water is always comparatively still at this place, otherwise we might have another fatal accident to chronicle. Lately Mr George Frederick Howell, a gentleman well known in business circles in Auckland, shot himself in Hazard's shooting gallery, in Queen street of that city. Westport has now arranged its St. Patr rick's Day sports. There is to be a foot-ball match for L2O, wrestling prizes of L 5 and L 2, two prizes for the bast vaulfcers of L 3 and LI, with other games. A cricket match is also arranged between the Buller and Charleston amateur cricketers, to be held at Gibson's paddock on the same day. At the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday, before W. H. Revell. Esq.^l\.M., Emma Singer was charged, on the information of Phemie Hope, with the wilfuj destruction of property, arid "also with having made use of abusive and threatening language. It appeared that the defendant went to the house where the complainant was Hying at six o'clock on the morning of the 10th inst., knocked at the door, and asked for a man she supposed to. be. there. When the door was opened by the complainant, the defendant pushed her way in with a large stone ' in her hiuid^ with which she attempted to

strike complainant. A Mrs M'Ginty cajne to her assistance, and they pushed her out. She was making use of very bail language, and when she was put out she smashed three panes of glass with a" large piece of wood. A witness stated that when the defendant left a ball on the morning in questiou, she was intoxicated, and said she would go and break Mrs Hope's windows, as she had spoken jll against her, The defence, as stated by counsel, was that Mrs. Hope used irritating language to the defendant, and she wa.s very miich excited by being violently agitated while " her spirits were confused, being heated with wine," No witnesses were called in defence. The defendant was fined L 5, or one month's imprisonment, for the obscene language, and ordered to pay L 2 for- the damage done, with costs. A meeting was lately held at Westport with reference to the appointment of a clergyman as a successor to the B;ev. Mr Harvey, and the one affirmative resolution passed for transmission to the Bishop, as to the choice of a successor, was to the following effect .— ••• That the Rev. Mr Beaumont, formerly qf Greymouth, having expressed himself willing tq accept the cure of this parish, and that gentleman's labors having been much appreciated by his former parishiouere, this meeting resolves that thp Bishop of Nelson be recommended to appoint Mr Beaumont to St. John's. " A foot-race, in which a considerable amount of interest was taken, came off on Mawhe,ra Quay, on Saturday afternoon, be T two young townsmen, Wright and Twohill. Th§ distance was 150 yards, the raoe to. be for L2O a-side, and Twohill to get eight yards start. When the signal was given, and both men started, the inevitable do<*. which crosses the course at every race, ran in front of Twohill, causing him to stumble and lose a few yards, which event Wright improved, and was soon abreast of his oppoueat, who, however, ran plnckily, although it was plainly seen that be could not win, as Wright was not exerting himself. With longer training, Twohill will yet make a formidable opponent. An Auckland paper states that, at Gate Pah, the other day, John Burrows, of the Thames Volunteer Corps, by hia own act, and against the entreaties of friends, set fire to an old Armstrong lllb loaded shell by laying a train of powder, the bursting of which took away a portion of his temple and skull, causing instantaneous death. George William " Brown, storekeeper, Christmas Terrace, was charged at Westport, a few days ago, with having, after filing in the District Court a deed of assignment under the Bankruptcy Act, 1867, concealed part of his property of the value of upwards of LlO, with intent to defraud, and was committed for trial at the next sitting of the District Court, but was admitted to bail. An accident, very fortunately not fatal in its consequences, occurred to a young man named John Kirkwood, a miner, at Brown's Terrace, Charleston, on Monday last. He was working in his claim, the ground of which was timbered when it tilted over, and he was buried for two hours and "a half. A numbor of miners rendered assistance, and he was brought into the Hospital, where he is at present lying, having received aphnl injury, but he is showing symptoms of improvement . The Thames Mining Advocate says — It wjuld have done a disciple of the Exeter Hall school's heart good to have seen as we did, one day last week, a Maori woman supplying the wants of her infant out of one of the latest patented feeding bottles, whether one of Mather's or Maw's we are not quite certain. The woman -was seated complacently smoking a black pipe, on the doorstep of a public-house, out of which a ministering sister issued with the aforesaid bottle, and handed.it to the mother, who promptly withdrawing the " baccy pipe" from between Ler lips, extracted -the air by a vigorous suck from the feeding tube,- and then popped the latter into the child's mouth. The little creature lilted it, at least we inferred as much from the extraordinary rapidity with which the contents of the bottle disappeared. After this we shall be quite prepared to hear of the introduction of swinging cots and baby jumpers into raupo whare. Under the heading, "Bush Lawyers," an Otago paper has the following remarks, which also apply to several districts on the West Coast : — It has been the custom for many years to allow persons known as law and money agents to appear in the country districts and on gold fields, and conduct or defend cases there -that', in fact, they have assumed all the rights belonging to legallyqualiliecl legal practitioners. Attempts have been made to check this practice j and we believe we are correct in stating that Mr Strode, E.M., then a member of the Upper House, in 1867 succeeded in carrying through Parliament, the Resident Magistrates Act, 1867, with the express view of effectually stopping it. On more than one occasion the custom has been brought under the notice of Judges of the Supreme Court, who have not hesitated to condemn it, and .no notice is taken of those judicial warnings. It still continues, and would appear to be encouraged. In the course of the trial of the (Jase Regina v. Richards, reference was made i to the practice, and it was stated by Mr Warden Simpson, who was a witness, that Mr- Justice Wilson Gray was in favor of " articled clerks" appearing in court to conduct and defend cases, as by that means it was more likely that justice .odd be arrived at. The Warden also expressed an opinion that the only method of checking the practice Mas that duly qualified practitioners should practice on the gold fields. His Honor regretted that such a praotice should prevail. It was, he remarked, encouraging i bastard solicitors— men who claimed all the rights and privileges of solicitors of the Supreme Court, but who. did hot undertake their responsibilities, A good illustration of the kind of "lawyers." these agents make, was given in tfie course of the trial referred to. The prisoner Richards was charged with forging the. signature to a document purporting to-be a release from debt. This document was couched in most extraordinary legal phraseology, and, according to hip Honor," was " the most curious combination of bad sense, bad spelling, and bad grammar," he had ever bs.cu. • ]