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Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 662, 16 April 1870, Page 2

Yesterday beingGoodFriday, was observed in town as a close holiday, all kinds of business being entirely suspended. The weather was beautifully line, and the majority of the residents were tempted to spend the day in the country. « The second appearance of the Greymouth Dramatic and Histrionic Club will be made on Wednesday evening, at the Volunteer Hall, the performance being for the benefit of the Grey River Hospital. The announced programme is a good one, including the drama of " Rent Day," a musical interlude, and the farce " Turn him out." Judging by the success which attended their last performance, their constant rehersals, and close attention given to the study of their various parts by the members during the last few weeks, we may confidently predict that the entertainment will prove a great success. Mr Warden Revell has granted protection for all claims, rights, and privileges, held | within the district for Easter Monday and Tuesday. We have to remind our readers that the new Panorama and Diorama of New Zealand scenery will be exhibited for the first time in the Volunteer Hall, to-night. On Easter Monday all the banks in town will be closed. We are requested to remind the members of Trinity Church that the collection tomorrow will be presented as an Easter offering to the incumbent. We are sorry to hear that there is some likelihood of the recently-finished breakwater at Timaru destroying the present landing place. The shingle is silting up on both sides very fast, and if it continues, will result in forming a new beach over the buried breakwater. Should this prove to be the case it will be fortunate that the experiment was not conducted on a larger scale, and that only hundreds in the place of thousands have been;thrown away. At a recent meeting of the Ethnological Society, in London, there was read a communication from DrHaast "On Stone Implements discovered in Bruce Bay. " Information is just to hand that a party of sixteen diggers have withdrawn the M 'lsaacs company's pegs Upper Karaka, Auckland, and aie now holding it under rights. They took advice, and it is current they saw the Warden before so doing. A singular accident, says the Oamaru Times, happened to a hawker named Heeles last Wednesday, 2nd inst. He had left his waggOE, loaded with drapery and clothing, standing outside some buildings on Messrs Reid and Bathgate's premise?, wnile he went inside to ply his vocation. The vehicle was covered with a tarred cloth, and the lamps were burning. From some cause or other the horse, which was tied to the wheel, became frightened, and overturned the waggon, which with its contents was in a few moments in a blaze. The progress of the fire was so rapid that little could be done to save the goods, first attention being directed to the blazing vehicle, which was within a few yards of a quantity of hay, whence, had it ignited, the fire must have spread to the buildings and done great damage. The greater part of the goods was destroyed, and the body of the waggon burnt to a cinder. Unfortunately, too, a box, in which was a pocket-book containing some L4B in money, was also burnt, though as a good part of the money was in the shape of cheques, the owner will be able to obtain repayment of the amounts represented. The claims at Skipper's, Otago, according to a correspondent of the Wahxtip Mail, are generally speaking steady and prosperous. The Nugget and Cornish Company have | finished a crushing which, it is supposed, is I satisfactory, as the engineer is busy taking down their late purchase of Parry and Co.'s machine and packing the same, to be erected on the Shotover, near the claim. We notice by the Westland Gazette published on Wednesday last, that the County Chairman has granted unto George Curtis protection for twelve months for a road from the Coal Pits on the Grey River to the Arnold River, and also for a ferry over the Arnold River, and further authorises the collection of the undermentioned tolls :— Foot passengers, Is ; horses with riders or packs, 2s 6d ; horses without riders or packsIs 6d ; cattle, Is j sheep per hundred, 6s. The road referred to consists jof one and a half miles of the dray road recently constructed by the Government from the Coal Pits to the Still-water Bridge. From this bridge to the Arnold punt is about 14 miles further, and it is proposed by Mr Curtis to lay down a tramway over the flat. The punt at the Arnold junction has been worked by Mr Curtis for the last 24 years. An adjourned special meeting of the Borough Council was held en Thursday afternoon, in the Town Hall, for the purpose of deciding the question debated on the previous evening— whether the tramway line should be allowed to go through. Mr Rody's garden at the Australasian. The members of the Committee and Surveyor, who had visited the ground, reported that there was no other way for the tramway to go except through this garden, but that less damage could be done to it than was proposed by the tramway proprietors. After a long discussion, it was resolved the line should go as proposed through'the garden, but not within twenty feet from the back of Mr Rody's cottage, and that as little damage as possible should be done to the garden. As so much has been said on one side of this question^ and so little on the other, we may mention that for weeks back Messrs Kilgour and Perotti have endea\ored to arrange terms with every person on the beach, through

whose gardens, claims, &a, the new portion of the tramway line will go. In one case L2O was paid to a miner Tor permission to go over his water-rights. Every person on the line was ainfcably arranged with except Mr Rody, who had squatted on the road-line. All that was wanted was the width of the rails through his garden— his cottage was not to be interfered with— and Mr Kilgour offered to pay him any reasonable compensation for the amount of damage which would be done to his crop. To this offer he received the following most unreasonable reply: -"South Beach, April 4, 1870. Sir — I send you, in compliance with your wishes, an estimate value of my property, situate west of the Cemetery Reserve, which are as follows : — Ist. Cost of clearing, fencing, and laboring ready for crop a garden 2\ chains long by 1^ chains wide, one (1) man six months, at L 3 per week, LBO. 2nd. Cost of a four-roomed cottage, weatherboard 18 x 18, with verandah and outhouses, material, erection, and repairs, L9O. 3rd. Annual value of crop, L3O. And at the same time beg to inform you what my terms are, they are two (2) :— lst. That you are to pay me the value of the garden crop and cottage as per estimate. 2nd. Or the option of building and constructing equally as good a cottage, and a garden ready for crop, drained and fenced, wherever it may suit me. 1 have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, Robert Rody." After receiving this the proprietors of the line applied to the Council, and, as stated above, obtained permission to go through the garden. We have explained both sides of this question, in order that the public may form an unbiassed opinion. At the Resident Magistrate's Court on Thursday, before W. H. Revell, Esq., R.M., Patrick Fleming was again brought up, as he was supposed to be of unsound mind. He was further remanded until Wednesday next, for medical treatment. The Inspector of Nuisances brought a complaint against Barclay and Co., of allowing two sows and ten pigs to wander at large on Preston road. He had since seen the sams animals penned up in the defendant's yard. A fine of L 2 and costs was inflicted. The Court adjourned for the Easter Holidays until Wednesday. The death is announced of the wife of the Very Rev. the Dean of Christchurch. Great dissatisfaction appears to be felt among the Otago Volunteers that the sole management of the forthcoming Colonial Rifle Meeting was not entrusted to Captain Atkinson (Adjutant of the Otago district.) Colonel Harrington, from Wellington, will be in command, while all the labor will fall upon the first-named officer. A private meeting of the shareholders of the Moonlight Quartz Mining Company was held at Christchurch on the 11th inst. The result has not yet transpired. The grand fete got up by Committees of the Friendly Societies in Greymouth takes place on Easter Monday in the paddock belonging to Messrs Willoughby and Fairhall, which has been very kindly granted for the ocsasion. During the week, the gentlemen forming the Committee we have referred to, have been ndefatigible in their efforts to obtain promises of presents of goods for the auction bazaar, which is expected to prove the most money-making portion of the day's proceedings. The programme of sports is so long that we have no hope of its being got through before sunset, and we trust that the quantity of gifts for sale will correspond with the number of prizes. The contributions are to be gathered to-day ; the Committee will come round with their dray, and we have no doubt that the members of a community that never yet treated a good cause with indifference, will upon this occasion stretch their liberality to its utmost limit. To secure this we have ODly to s';ate that the good cause for which the fete has been instituted is to form the commencement of a public fund which will be available for the assistance of all widows and orphans in Greymouth who may require relief, irrespective of country, creed, or class. A better, or rather an aim more thoroughly in keeping with the teachings of our Christian religion, could not well be conceived, and the gentlemen who have given their time and labor to its furtherance certainly deserve the heartiest support a community can give them. Should the weather^continue as it has been during the last few days, everybody in town will tuia out for a day's amusement, and it is to be hoped it will prove to be one of thorough honest enjoyment. In connection with the same event, a ball and supper will be given at the Volunteer Hall in the evening. We may mention that in the event of the weather being unfavorable, the Bazaar will be held the same day in the large room over Cullen and Go's drapery establishment. Members of the orders M.U.1.0.0.F. and. A.O.F. are requested to attend at the Lodge room, Hunt's Club Hotel, in full regalia, on Monday morning at 9 o'clock sharp, for the purpose of falling in with the procession to the ground. The new storm channel at Ross, built by the Totara Road Board, at a cost of L4OO, stood the late floods admirably, and gave great satisfaction in the district. The Friendly Societies at Ross gave a grand fete on Wednesday last in aid of the Totara Hospital. Many ladies in Hokitika sent valuable contributions in the shape of goods for the auction sale. The crate and footbridge over Donnelly's Creek, Totara district, was washed away during the late floods. Yesterday's W. C. Times says:— "Two fishermen had a narrow escape from drowning on Thursday. It appears they were crossing over from the South Spit early in the morning, having been attending a wedding there on the previous evening, and seeing the bar apparently smooth, they were j induced to try and reach the roadstead, for the purpose of fishing. Unfortunately, however, they were deceived as to the state of the surf, and their boat, was capsized when about half way across, the men getting astride on her bottom, and the mate of the Lioness hearing their cries, the Lioness, which had steam up, proceeded to their assistance, and picked them up. The men were none the worse, excepting the ducking.