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Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 674, 14 May 1870, Page 2

Some very stupid typographical errors occurred in our last leader on the financial position of the County. Auckland was stated to have borrowed L 50,000, which ought to have been L 500,000. The amounts received out of Colonial revenue, and expended for Provincial purposes by Wellington was L 41.841, and Hawke's Bay L 2727, and not the larger sums stated. A public meeting will be held this evening at eight o'clock, at Gilmer's Hall, for the purpose of approving of the petition to be sent to the General Government with reference to the distribution of the County revenue. It is to be hoped the attendance will be large, as the step now proposed to be taken is a very serious one, and one in which every member of the community ought to feel deeply interested. Last night the Sub-Committee met .and prepared the draft of the proposed petition, which will be submitted to the General Committee this evening, at seven o'clock, before it is placed before the general public. We notice that the Albion Hotel has once more been re-occupied by the owners, Messrs Tonks and Hughes, the lease to Mr Jakob having expired. Mr Tonks will, for the present, manage this branch of the business, which is a sufficient guarantee that it will be done properly. Two poor little boys were picked up last night near the Fire Brigade Hall by Mr Boylan, the night watchman. One was sleeping under a house, and the other was about to crawl into the hen-house, where he said he had slept for se\ eral nights. They were half-naked, bare-footed, and nearly famished. One was the son of Mrs Rice, now in gaol, and had been boarded at Tivoli by order of the Magistrate, but had been turned out. He was sent over to the Camp, and, we suppose, taken care of, as he did not return. The other said he was a son of a Mrs Swords, and she had turned him out at Napoleon. The boy had managed to make his way to town, and was sleeping about under houses or anywhere, and living on any scrap he could pick up. Mr Bcylan took him in to the fire, gave Trim a good feed, and made him up a bed in the corner of the engine-room, where we saw him sleeping soundly late last night. He will be handed over to the police this morning as a vagrant, and it is to be hoped that the inhuman mother will be prosecuted. At Donald's Terrace, First Crossing, Moonlight, another shaft at eight feet has bottomed on gold ; obtaining two pennyweights off the bottom. This is the fourth shaft down, and although not quite certain as to whether the claim will turn out payable, it is in a line with the other three, which are sure to turn out well. There are about twenty men now prospecting for this lead. Although Mr Inspector James has been allowed to leave Greymouth without any public recognition of the general esteem in which he is held by all classes of the community, we believe the matter has not been overlooked. It is the intention* of a number of gentlemen to invite Mr James to visit us in about a fortnight, when a handsome testi-

monial will be presented to him. In coinection with his, and the other officers' promotion, we think they bavo been very shalbily treated by Mr Hoos, who, instead of reteiv,ing Mr Broham's resignation, grantedhim two months' leave of absence. By this means he will draw full pay from the County to the end of the financial year, and also full pay from the General Government as an officer of the Constabulary Force, while the officers of our police force who were promoted receiva no additional pay. , The latttAt of quartz from^f Moonlight tfo&pany induced . dir«<tors *d send a quantity of the tailings tcSHte'boume to be thofcmghly tested, in order to find if the gold was reaUy lost in the crushing, as supposed. A small quantity of these tailings was washed yesterday at the Bank of New Zealand, the result being a yield of gold supposed to be at the rate of 3oz to the ton. Another washing will take place to-day in the presence of a number of persons invited. Prof. Ba van's entertainment in "Magic, Mirth, and Mystery" commences on Monday evening, at the Volunteer Hall. Mr H. P. Skead, the teacher of the day school at Napoleon, has received a communication from the Government, through Mr Whitcfoord, to the effect that the sum of L 25 would be available at once as a subsidy towards the school at Napoleon, if a like sum were subscribed by the inhabitants. It is to be hoped that the offer of the Government will be accepted, for, small as the amount is, it might be the means of keeping the school open. A miner, named John James, who has been an inmate of the Westport District Hospital during the past three weeks, died very suddenly on Sunday morning. He gave his name to the hospital warder as Johrrr James-' Lawson, but his friends state it to be John James. He ia stated to have come out tc the Colonies as stoker in the steamship Egmont. The following paragraph has recently been going the round of the New Zealand papers : — " According to the Wellington papers, the Tararua on her last trip took on board at Gnymouth 56 tons of Grey River coal for the purpose of testing its suitability for steam purposes. The result, not a satisfactory one, inasmuch as she could not make more than six knots an hour while burning this coal." We hare made the fullest enquiry, and find that this statement is utterly without foundation. The agents say that the Tararua never shipped an ounce of coal here. She may have been supplied at some of the ports with what was sold as Grey coal, but it could not be so, as the coal from the Brunner mine bears a very high character amongst engineers. The Panama Company always used it when their vessels coaled at Nelson, and Captain Daniels of the s.s. Wallaby informs us that he sells nearly all the cargoes of coal he takes from here to Wanganui to the Government steamers. As the report is a very damaging one, we hope our contemporaries who published it will give this contradiction equal publicity. A meeting of the Grey Valley Hospital Committee was held at Mr Maurice Doolan's Hotel, Ahaura, on Thursday evening. Present — Warden Whitefoord, in the chair, Messrs Pinker ton, Doolan, M'Kenna, John Hamilton (Gilmer), and "Fraser. The meeting was called to hear Mr Davis as to the result of bis mission to the several mining townships which he had visited as a deputation. Mr Davis addressed the committee at some length, and concluded by saying that an almost universal opinion existed among the miners that a district hospital was an absolute necessity, and the only difficulty which would be likely to arise would be the selection of the site. MrPinkerton moved a vote of thanks to Mr Davis for the able exertions he had made on behalf of the proposed insti- 1 tution, and he hoped that he (Mr Davis) would continue so to exert himself until the object for which the committee had been formed was accomplished. He thanked him on behalf of the public, and especially on behalf of the committee. Mr M'Kenna seconded the motion, which was carried. After transacting other business, and passing a vote of thanks to the Chairman, the com- j mittee separated. A prospect of half a pennyweight to the dish has been obtained in the 700 ft tunnel on the Brighton Lead. At a public meeting, held at Queenstown, Otago, a few days ago, it was resolved to open the Shotover bridge early this month with a grand ceremony and a free luncheon for 1000 persons. The Superintendent, Secretary for Lands and Works, and the Mayors and Councillors of Clyde, Cromwell, Alexandra, and Lawrence, are to be invited, on the occasion. > The Hawke's Bay Herald of April 29th, says : "In our last issue we gave some Taupo intelligence, which showed: that our forces were harassing the enemy in the confines of the Urewera country. We now learn that advices have reached the Government agent that ten men of Hapurona'o hapu of the Urewera tribes, have come out of the bush aud surrendered themselves to Captain Mair, and that they state that Hapurona. whose Maori name is Kohi, and the rest of the tribe, some forty in number, are also desirous of giving themselves up. We believe that instructions have gone to Taupo to accept the surrender, and we shall probably hear further particulars soon. This branch of the Urewera tribe has lately been hiding in the neighborhood of Ahikereru. The fact of these people giving in shows how complete is the destruction of Te Kooti's party, and the Btraits to which they are reduced. Te Kooti is reported by these prisoners to be still hiding in the Wai-o-eka gorge, with a few followers, and destitute of food, except fern-root, and what he can pick up. It seems that honey is much depended on by those refugees in the covntry they are now in." Information reached the police at the Ahaura on Wednesday that another lunatic was roaming about in the vicinity of Moonlight (at Baxter's Gully), armed with a tomahawk, and threatening to take some person's life. Constable Dorris was dispatched to Baxter's to secure the maniac. The Westport Times states that about eight or nine o'clock on Wednesday evening a domestic at the Royal Oak Hotel, Wharf street, noticed Mr M'TCinley standing near the hotel, and the pertinacity with which he continued in his position attracted her attention. He phortly afterwards came into the bar and called for a brandy ; the barmaid addressed one or two questions to him but received no reply. His attention was at that time fastened upon a letter and portrait of a female, and his manner she describes as absent, but he appeared to be perfectly sober. He shortly returned to the boat at the steps and the barmaid concluded that he wa* watching the steamer at the Bright street Wharf, with the object of tracing a wife or sweetheart or some runaway debtor. Unable altogether to control a feeling of uneasiness she went to the boat several times and found him sitting with his feet in the water. She asked if he wanted a boatman and mentioned that he would get one at the Steps in Gladstone street. Ho stated "he knew all about that" and she went away but returned shortly and found that he had left. Mr Haynes, her employer, returned shortly after eleven o'clock from the play, and to him she detailed what had occurred. From the description he concluded it to be Mr M'Kinley, and went with a lantern to fetch him into the house. He found' him some distance from the boat on the river bank and wasj|on

the poir.t of seizing him when he (M'Kinley) dashed his coat into his face and sprang into the water. The night was dark but by the light of the lantern he was plainly visible, Bwinuning vigorously and it was apparent that \\k couldliave easily reached the bank. He was lost sight of near the Bright street wharf 'and no trace of the body lias as yet been discovered. A slight shock of earthquake was felt in Helsal on Friday morning, about a quarter after'nve o'clock. Th«e are now at work in the Province of Tiranfki, or in process of construction, 30 flax-ingehines. ♦The coal mine in the Aorere, just above Co'Jingwood, will soon be at work, with eveiy prospect of supplying the market with coal of the very best quality, which will be transferred from trucks into the holds of vessels Theshooting season commenced in Auckland on the Ist inst. Birds were found to be unißually numerous, but from their shyness it was evident they had been shot at. A hit manufactory is about to be started in Auskland. The manufacturer i% aMr Chapnan, who has carried on business for the lash four years in Melbourne. . We (Westport Times) are informed upon undoubted authority that Mr Gallagher purposes to tender his resignation as member for West Und North in the House of Kepresenr tatives. Business engagements have necessitate^ this step on the part of the above gentleman. tfm important bridges in the southern districts of Otago are now completed, and ready for traffic. Tbe one which is over the nosh branch of the Tokomairiro river is 46f fc long Tly 14ft wide, while the other, which is QVjg|*he Pomahaka river, near Clydevale ,atiflfe,< is a much larger work, bein« 219 ft in^Btfth by 12ft in width. It is said to be one of the most substantial works of the kind as yet erected to the south of Dunedin.' v Itipfthe Nelson Provincial Council the other day, Mr Mackley moved, " That his Honor the Superintendent be requested to furnish the Council with an account of the [receipts o f the Buller aud Grey districts I (separately), and also the amounts voted and expended in tho3e districts for the last three years ending the 31st March last." He said that the motion was only reasonable, and that he moved it for the purpose of obtaining information to which the occupants of these districts naturally considered themselves entitled. The inhabitants of the Grey Valley, for instance, paid a great deal of money to the Provincial chest, and he wished to know what was the actual amount. Mr Reid seconded the motion, repeating as to the Buller what Mr Mackley had said respecting the Grey. They paid a large sum to the Government, and got very little for it. The Provincial Secretary pointed out the difficulty of making such a return, as the accounts of the General Government had grossed the sum payable to the Province of the consolidated fund, and did not give the proceeds of the different sources until last year. He moved, seconded by Mr Collins, that' the return be for the last financial year. Mr Mackley would not agree to that amendment, as it would defeat the object he had in view. The amendment was negatived. Mr Donne moved an amendment to add. returns for Charleston and Brighton. Mr Shepherd said that the particulars could be obtained generally by an abstract from the Warden's books. Amendment put and negatived. Motion put and also negatived. An indignation meeting was announced to be held at the Jones's Flat Hotel, Ross, last evening, for the purpose of calling upon Mr Hoos to resign his trust as member of the County Council for that district. A claim was recently made at the Auckland police court against a reporter of tbe Mormtfg Advertiser for wrongful conversion of papers addressed to the Evening Star, and left on the 10th ult. at the police office for that paper. Judgment was given for L 5 aud costs, the action having been brought for L2O. b From the Ross Guardian we learn that the All Nations claim are down to the depth of 165 ft, and have very little water to contend against. The depth of wash is eight feet. They struck the reef which is an overhanging one from 1 Sailor's Gully, at a depth of 53ft. They have got gold in the face of eight feet in width, and have obtained as much as 14 or 15oz of gold in the two shifts. The wheel works capitally. By computation, it brought up one bucket of dirt in 45sec. The shareholders have every reason to be satisfied with the results as it bids fair to outdo the farfamed claim, the Blue Jacket, which at present is obtaining good and payable dirt at the higher levels. The recent costly labor gone into by the shareholders in this company will be most satisfactory, and they will be well rewarded for their trouble as long as the washdirt continues to yield as at present.