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Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 688, 16 June 1870, Page 2

_ A rush took place on Tuesdaj r , the 14th inst., to some shallow ground about 14 miles up the Ahaura River from the township and not far from Taylor and Hanaii's claim, A number of the roadmen left tbe \yorks to proceed to' the rush; but nothing reliable has yet reached the Ahaura about it. " Taylor a»(i Haroil are making small wages in their claim, but they are using: all the water at present available for sluicing. There is an unlimited area, of vety poor sluicing ground in this locality, hyA, although water can be brought on to it, it will be difficult and expensive to do so. In our last we recorded a fight which took place at Paddy's Gully, which was expected to terminate fatally for a miner named Russell. We regret to have to add that Russell died in the Grey River Hospital yesterday morning from the effects of the injuries sustained. TaJWm..iwMn iv-fail tne figlit. He never recovered consciousness. An inquest will be held to-day, upon the result of which the trial of his assailant, who it now in custody at Cobden, depends. If some action is not taken immediately by the officers of« the Government, or by charitably-disposed private individuals, we expect soou to be called upon to chronicle the finding of some children dead from exposure and hunger in the bush. Only the other day the notorious Mrs Rice came out of gaol, and her three children were handed .over to her by the police. The same evening she took them out into the bush and left t them to their fate, and has not since beeu heard of. On Friday evening last the two little girls werfi picked up by Mr Wickes, nearly dead with cold and hunger, and he very humanely took them to Mrs Nelson at Tivoli, and promised to pay for their board until something could be done for them. Only last night Mr Wickes picked up Mrs Rice's boy on the lainui street Tramway, in a dreadful state of wretchedness, took him to his own house where he was washed, clothed and fed, and where he still remains. Something must be done for |those helpless children, for it is unfair that the private charity of one individual should be taxed to such an extent. It is no use handing them over again to their mother, for she will just take them deeper into the bush next time. They are worse than orphans, and surely a small sum might be set apart from the funds collected at the Easter Monday fete, to send them to some charitable institution. At the regular meeting of the Greymouth Masonic Lodge, held on Tuesday evening, W. G, Moss, Esq., was elected W. M. for the ensuing year. The installation of officers will take place at the aiext regular meeting of the Lodge. The sale of Mr James Wylde's landed properties and house, takes place to-day at the rooms of Messrs D. Macleau and Co, at noon. The GlassblowerS closed their entertainments in Greymouth last evcuing, after a vevy sYYM&ssfttl season. They leave for Wcsfcpoit by the s.s. Murray this morning. The first Masonic funeral in Greymoufch took place yesterday, wisn the mortal reremains of the late Mr F. H. Lowe, Superintendent of the Grey River Hospital, were conveyed to their last resting-place in the Cemetry. During the few months Mr Lowe had been Tesident here he had gained the esteem of a large cire'e of friends, and this was shown yesterday by a number of the principal places of business having their shutters on, and many of them being en-, tirely closed when the cortege passed. Although the' whether was very 'bad, and I rained heavily, there was a numerous attenI dance of all' classes of the commuuity. Mr Lowe, being a member of the Masonic Fraternity, and having made a request some time ago that in the event of his death he wished to be buried with Masonic honors, the members of the Greymouth Lodge assembled in their Hall, Gihner's Buildings, and, after some preliminaries were marshalled by Brother D. Maclean, and marched* ■■|o the Hospital, from which place the funeral Cortege was to move. . Four of the brethreu carried the coffin to the corner of Mackay and Tainui streets, where the hearse was standing, the streets in this . locality beiug in such d condition as to render it impossible for the horses to approach nearer to the place where the corpse lay. The funeral processipn then, moved along Mawhera and Richmond Quays in the. following order: Tyler (Acting), Mr E. B. Fox, with drawn sword ; Band, playing the Dead March in Saul ; six Stewards, with- rods ; Brethren in Masonic mourning costume ; Bro. C. Hansen, Senior Deacon; Brd, H.

Whitmore, (Acting) Junior Deacon : Bro. J. M 'Beth, Treasurer; Bro. R. Shaw, (Acting) Secretary ; Bro. C. Morice, Inner Gnard, with sword of office; Bro. E. Anchor, Past Master; Bro. F. Guinness, bearing the Sacred Writings ; Bro. G. W. Moss, Worshipful Master; Bro. Watkins, clergyman ; mutes, hearse, and pall bearers ; then followed a large concourse of the late Mr Lowe's friends on foot and horseback. The procession passed along Mawhera and Richmond "Quays, and Arney street, which were lined with spectators, to the Cemetery, where the Eev. Mr Watkins read the funeral service of the Church of ' England. Mr G. W. Moss, W.M., then went through the solemn arid impressive ceremony of the Order for the Dead, .which, from bis distinct and audible delivery, was listened to with much attention. Tie ceremony beint; concluded, the brethren proceeded to the Tramway Station,- and came to town by rail. Outside the town, the procession was again formed, and proceeded in order to the Lodge-room. Amalgam robberies have become somewhat frequent of late in the Btiller district. A copper plate, tLickly coatod, was stolen from the boxes of Mees and party, E-qchfort Terrace, about midnight on Saturday, and the following morning Graham and party, of Doadman's Creek, missed a copper plate from their washing site ; in the latter case the plate had not much amalgam upon it. The only business of any importance transacted in the County Council on Monday was as follows: -Mr Reeves asked "Whether those officers in the employment of the County, .who are required from their position to eater into fidelity bonds, have done so V The Chairman said the officers under the control of the General Government had arranged satisfactory bonds. The County Treasurer, the only officer required to give, a guarantee to the County, had given a private bond. — Mr Reeves moved, "That aselect committee, consisting of Messrs Lahinan. Carreras, j White, and the mover, be appointed for the purpose of reporting to this Council the most advantageous manner by which a dray-road may be constructed from Woodstock to Ross. " The motion was seconded by Mr Carreras, and carried. A very graceful present, according to native custom, has recently been made to the relatives of William Thompson by an Auckland merchant. Shortly before his death, William Thompson made a present to this gentleman, who, however, has recently had the present fitted withla suitable design, bearing an inscription stating that the present given by William Thompson is now returned to that chief's relatives, as a mark of respect for the late chief. We have to record an accident which happened to a miner named Joseph Cooper. It appears he was engaged, about ten o'clock on Saturday morning, putting up some fluming on his claim, which is situated about ten miles above the Kanieri township. The scaffolding on which he was standing gave way, and he. was precipitated to the ground, a depth of some 15 feet, amongst a quantity of boulders. He was found to have fractured his left leg above the ankle, and his mates decided to convey him to tbe -Hospital. At New Plymouth, a bazaar in aid of the Church of England Building Fund, came off on the Q4bh Way, and was a greit success. The result has been very satisfactory, L 368 being the amount realised, which will more than clear off the, debt hanging over St. Mary's Chnrch. ' Topley, the English pedestrian, attempted to carry out his self-imposed task of walking 14 miles in two hours, and had successfully »done half the distance in 3m 15s under the hour, when he was attaoked with spasms, and compelled to give in. A correspondent at No Town sends the following -.—The street at No Town is being _gradually yet surely eaten away by successive floods. No person but a worthy bouV face seems to take any interest in the matter, and it appears that existingrights interfere and prohibit him from being a public benefactor, by placing large crates, built at considerable cost, in such position as to turn the course of the stream. There is some talk of a new township being surveyed ; but, like the new track, it is talk, talk, unmitigated gas, with nothing done. . Friday last was a most unfortunate day in Wellington as in addition to a case of fearfully sudden death, and an accident to a boy Biggs, an accident, with a fatal termination, happened to an old and respected Wellington settler- Mr Joseph Lowry, the proprietor of the Nag's Head Inn, in Cuba street. Mr Lowry was apparently in good health, and on Friday afternoon he attended a meeting of the Town Board to represent the defective state of the drainage in the neighborhood of his premises. Later in the evening he was seized with a fit, believed to have ;been epileptic, while on the stairs in his house, and falling down he received such injuries as at once rendered bis recovery hopeless. The best medical -u I was procured, but it was of no avail, and Mr Lowry expired early oh Sunday morning. Mr Lowry was a comparatively young man (45), and leaves a wife and family to mourn his loss. ; From No Town we hear that Messrs Jones and party have got their tunnel in 560 ft, and have just broke into what is supposed to be the edge of the run 'of gold. Three parties have taken up claims to the west of them, and it is expected that the whole of the ground down to Fisher's will soon be occupied. • The Nile bridge,, near Charleston, is approaching completion. The coach crossed for the first time on Tuesday last. The usual fortnightly meeting of the Grey River Hospital Committee was'helcl at Gilmar's Hotel last night. Presents-Messrs Whitefoord (chair), Kingj Maclean, Strike Purcell, Revell, Winter, Perkins, Arnott, Glenn,. and Moss. The minutes of the preI vious meetingflaviu«beanroadand confiriaed, [the Visiting Committee were authorised' to' make arrangnmenba for properly cpnductiug 1 the Hospital until <v successor to tlie lato Mr Lowe was' appointed ; and the Secretary was . instructed to telegraph, to DrMaunsell, Hoki-' tika, enquiring whether he knew of any person in Hokitika capable of filling the post of Superintendent and Dispenser ; aud, in the event of a reply in the negative, that a letter >be forwarded to Melbourne, giving authority to engage a successor. The other business was unimportant.

The Wellington papers continue to be very wroth at what they call tlie "Miserable Hall contract job," because Auckland is made the port of call for .the San Francisco line_of steamers. In a recent article on this subject the Advertiser thus "reckoned up" the present Ministry:-" Some 2000 years ago a very celebrated man ;was called an honorable man, and his colleagues were characterised as all, all, everyone of them honorable, men. Our New , Zealand 'Ministers are by courtesy, and after a lapse of 2000. years, still called "honorable." . We think that the Yankee wo.rd of "sm,art" men, would really conyey a more accurate designation of. their peculiarities from the ordinary run' of their fellow-settlers. Who" dare insinuate that William Fox has iibt times without number ' proved himself .a really first-class smart fellow ? ' Second on the list, who dare dispute but that the sermonising ponderous Gisboriie has so played his cards that he has shown that he is not wanting in smartness? With reference to the immortal Gizzy, we are conscious that his biography, more particularly the official part of his career, deserves a special biogra-

pher, for the benefit and instruction of young New Zealand. It would also add an interesting chapter to "Human Advancement." Like his friend Fox, he is a representative man, not, however, of cool impudence and personal vindictiveness, but of the better and gentler part of our race, and possessing a good deal of the cunning which is sometimes supposed to belong trt the fairer part of creation. With regard to Donald M'Lean, we can hardly class him as one of the very smart ones. Although his lot for a short time is with some of them, he is what is better understood amongst the auld folk as a cannie lad. Last, not least, is the illustrious Julius Vogcl, of the Southern Cross, late of the Ot'aso Times, arid formerly of we do not know how many other newspapers. Well, Julius always was thought a; smart .fellow, and peibaps always : will continue to try and do smart things ; but in his last attempt we fear for his fame that he has put his foot in it. More inroads of the sea, and destruction of property at Westport is thus recorded by Tuesday's Times :— "The very rough weather that prevailed on Saturday and Sunday abated yesterday, although a heavy surf continued to roll home, and at high tide yesterdaymorning, thewashof the waves inundated the streets in the vicinity of the beach. Very few houses have been flooded on this occasion, aud the damage happily falls altogether short of what was experienced about a month 1 back. At the lower end of Gladstone street the beach continues to disappear so quickly that the removal of the remaining buildings has ceased to be a doubtful question. The cottige recently occupied by Mr Limbriek was sold at auction by Mr Munro on Saturday for Ll4, and premises adjoining, the property of Mr Levi for Lll 10s. Mr Patterson, the bootmaker, was busy taking down and removing yesterday. The' Robert Burns Hotel, a two-storey building is in jeopardy, and was sold at auction yesterday. At the upper end of Gladstone street some damage ha 3 been sustained, as also in Wharf street. The action of the sea has loosened and detached portions of the river bank, diminishing the narrow strip of thoroughfare occupying the river frontage ; and unless some remedy or protection is speedily applied, the removal of the present line of buildings will become necessary. A letter from Messrs Langlands and Co., iron-founders, Melbourne, to Mr Thomson, their representative, now in Nelson, refers in terms of praise to the Brunner Mine coke, a sample of which Mr Thompson had sent to Melbourne. Mr Langlands says ;— " I may: state that the opinion of the foreman moulder (J. Smith), in which 1 quite concur, is as follows :— • The coke is superior to any coke that has yet come to this market, not excepting Brancepeth. The peculiar silveriness could not be imparted by any process or length of time iv burning were the quality not in the coal.' Our foreman is of opinion that it has not been made in ovens, and that it would be better were it so made. At present the demand for coke is much, less than' the supply, and, consequently,' the prices ruling are lower t^ian usual, namely, from L 4 to' L4 los per ton. The average price of coke in this market is about L 5 delivered in town. I consider that when yoar coke- becomes known (if equal to sample), it would command from 10s to 15s per ton ciore than Brancepeth." A. crystal picked up in the bed of the Waireka has been shown to the Oamaru Times. The finder and some Other persous, believe it to be a diamond. It is about the eighth of an inch in diameter, and very brilliant. : It will be remembered that during the last moyement for separation of the South- West Gold Fields, an agent was sent down to get up a counter-petition. It was then asserted and denied that the Nelson Government paid this agent's expenses, and this has now been proved by ■ a committee of the Provincial; Council upon ' ' contingencies, " which reported, as follows-:—" Under this heading there also appears an item of L 149, for paying the expenses of agents to procure signatures to an anti-separation petition on the West Coast. Your committee desire to call the special attention of the Council to this item of expenditure." We recently recorded the death of an actor, well-known here, Mr T. W. Piowe,; better known in the theatrical world as Mr Tom Fawcett— which occurred recently, at the Commercial Hotel, Townsville. The deceased had been suffering from dysentery for some days previous to his death ; but no fatal result was anticipated until a very short time before it took place. He was interred on the same afternoon in the cemetery, and was followed to the grave by many of his friends and admirers. His somewhat sudden death has cast a gloom over all who have enjoyed his society, and who could appreciate the gentle flow of humor which seemed in him to be inexhaustible. He was a popular actor everywhere ; and during his lengthened connection with- the. celebrated tragedian, Mr G. V. Brooke, with whom he used to play,, he displayed an amount of versatile talent which promised for him a wealthier if not a happier future . He leaves a wife and one child to mourn their loss. At the time of his death he was lessee of the Theatre Royal, Townsville. Poor Tom Fawcett had; many friends, and no enemies, and we are sure that all who knew him will join in mourning for his sudden demise. The Southern Cross says :— lt has been the fashion, amongst a certain class of people at home, to speak of the New Zealand settler as a ' land-greedy oppressor of the natives. Much has been written and spoken about fanciful wrongs of the Maori, who has beeu held up to public admiration as a very " noble savage" indeed. His very vices have been extolled, and his forays upon the houses of unfortunate settlers, and massacres of unoffending women and children, have been excused as mistaken patriotism, or at worst, mere excesses committed in the heat of excitement A. circumstance ivas jvvst oceurveil at Waifcetuna, in the Raglan District, which will ho doubt serve to point a moral and adorn a tale at Exeter Hall. One of the cruel and oppressive New Zealand' 'settlers had regularly purchased a block of land from the natives, paying down • a deposit of L 3 SO, leaving the balance to be paid when the surrey had. /been completed, aud the deeds handed ever. This settler had stipulated that he should be. permitted to select his block of land out of a large area, and this had. been agreed to. The. settler accordingly proci^ded to build his house, but had no sooner done so than a dissentient native appeared on the scene, and gave the European notice to quit. Tho European, with that perversity so strong in the New Zealand settler, declined to do this, no donbt imaginiug that, having bought the land, and virtually paid for it, he had a perfect right to it. But he was not long in discovering how egregibusly erroneous was the supposition, for the' native, no doubt in a lit of pure patriotic zeal, very coolly set fire to the thatch, and reduced the building to ashes. The owner, and an interpreter who stood by, appear to have' entered a mild protest against this arbitrary proceeding, gently intimating .that such conduct. was opposed to:, -' British law; but the " noble savage" in his righteous auger contemptuously snapped his fingers at a law which precluded any main doing "just as he darn pleased," and, having satisfied his offended patriotism, stalked off like a dignified noble savage " to enjoy a pipe by his peaceful fireside." The settler of course may no>y bring an action for damages, or lay an infor : mation for incendiarism, in which case he may provoke a war, or get himself tomahawked.