Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 709, 4 August 1870, Page 2

The Treasurer of the Grey Ri\er Hospital begs to acknowledge receipt from SubInspector Hickson of L 4 11s, being the sum, less cost of advertising, found by Mr Laughlan M'Quarrie on 22nd May last at Maori Creek, and handed by him to the police; also 5s from Mr Warner, Eight-mile. On Tuesday morning a young gentleman connected with the sum and hide trade called upon us, and, not in the politest language possible, accused us of attemptiug wilfully to injure liis business by keeping his name and his importations out of the manifest of the s.s. Kennedy. Upon referring to the original manifest in the Custom House, we found that our report was substantially correct, and that it contained no mention of the said hides and skins. We direct the attention of the Customs Officer to this ufatter, for if one hundred hides and any number of skins can be landed on the wharf, and no mention made ot them in the vessel's manifest, 100 barrels of gunpowder might as easily be landed. The matter demands enquiry. The usual fortnightly meeting of the Grey River Hospital Committee, was held at Gilmer's Hotel, last night. Present — Messrs Revell (chaii) King, - Winter, Kilgour, Arnott, Strike, Gilvner, Maclean, Thompson. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. The Visiting Committee reported that the number of patients in the Hospital at the beginniug of July was 26, since admitted 17, discharged 14, died 2, remaining in Hospital, 30. The accounts for the month, amounting to LlB5 15s lid were laid on the table and passed. A letter from the Curator of Intestate of Estates was read and received. The Treasurer acknowledged receipt of L 4' 16s being donations from Mr L. M'Quarrie and Mr Warner. ■ Tenders were ordered to be called for supplies for six months. Messrs Aruptfc, Moss, and Maclean, were appointed Visiting Committee for the month. The other business was unimportant. A meeting of those interested in the Presbyterian Church is called for to-morrow night, at the Melbourne Hotel, at eight o'clock. The auction sale of Skoglund and- Purcell's drapery stock did not take place on Tuesday, in consequence of the inclemency of the weather. The sale will take place on Saturday, and . every succeeding Tuesday and Saturday until the entire stock is cleared out. A telegraph station is now open at the Thames. Telegrams can now be forwarded from any station in the Colony to England and the Continent of Europe, via San Fr.insisco and Ne\v York. The cnavge is L 2 4s fov ten words. A meeting was recently held at M'Laughlin's Hotel, Napoleon, to take steps to raise money for the relief of the wives an:l families of the Irish State prisoners. Mr M'Laughlin was iv the chair, and collectors were appointed to canvass the district. Messrs Boland, Savage, and M 'JMahon, the sub-committee at Duffer Gully, have handed in to the hon. sec, W. Patrick Toner, the sum of L2B 13s as the contributions from that part of the district. Mr James M'Laughlin is treasurer of the fund, and when the lists are closed, by the end of August, it is expected the amount to be transmitted to Ireland will amount to several hundred pounds Mr L. Beit, who had been committed for trial at Hokitika for attempting self-destruc-tion, was released on bail, on Monday, on the application of Mr Button, defendant himself in LIOO, and two sureties of LSO each. The postage-rates in the Colony have been altered as follows .-—From any post-office to any other post-office iv the Colony, twopence, and for delivery at the office or in the town where posted one penny. These rates are now in force. An adjourned public meeting" was held at the Union Hotel on Tuesday evening, to consider the advisability of establishing in Greymouth a public Literary Society. There was a very poor attendance, most of the gentlemen present being members of the Literary Association now in existence. The Mayor took the chair,- explained the object of the meeting, and called upon Mr Newton to move the first resolution. Mr Newton then moved " That this meeting is of opinion that it is desirable to establish a Public Literary Institution in Greymouth, in the shape of a library and readiug«room, open to all subscribers." He said this was a real want in our midst, and if established, would benefit a large class of the community, who could only now resort to the public-house or dance-saloon for amusement. There was a private society in town, the members of which had experienced great benefit from it; but no doubt the formation of this society had retarded the establishment of a public institution. He was convinced, however, that the members of the private Bociety would do all they could to encourage the formation of the public institution. The County. Council had voted LSO for the Society, and it was anticipated that there would bo no difficulty, in raising the balance required from the public, in the shape of contributions and members' subscriptions. Mr Andrews seconded the motion. This was his ir-st speech in public, and he felt really proud that it should be iv support of a resolution of this nature. In a .speech of some length, he warmly supported the motion, dwelling upon the. benefits which a Public Literary Society was likely to confer upon the community, Mr Lahman and Mr Coe supported the resolution. Mr W. H. Rovell, President of the present Literary Society, said that they had not decided wnat steps to take with regard to the present- movement. Many of the members had I stated that they would support the public ' institution, and it was his intention to support it ; but unless the public took the matter up it was useless to press it. The matter was under discussion, but it was impossible to say what the mejnbers of the existing Literary Society would do, because they could not take steps until they saw how far tbe people .would come forward and support a public : institution. Of course, there were difficulties in thu way, which he hoped would be overcome, and an institution established which would be an honor to tug town. The resolution was put and carried. Mr Niohol moved the appointment of the following cqni.mittee, to carry out the objects of the meeting, viz, :— Messrs J. Kilgour, W. H. Revel!; C, Whitefoord, F. Andrews, E. Masters, D. Girdwood, J. Kirton, G. W. Nichol. A. F. Stark, P. M. Griffen, D, Sbeedy, M Kennedy, E. Wickes, J. Kerr, EC, Newton,

Howiesou, Sheedy, Strike, and Blackmora. Mr F. Guinness seconded the motion, which was carried. It was further resolved that the Committee should report within a fortnight. The meeting then adjourned — The Committee will meet on 'Friday evening, at seven o'clock, at the office of Mr H. Newton, to carry out the objects for which they were elected. In a late paper we mentioned that, iv a quarrel at the Thames, a man named Wallace had been thrown over a cliff. With regard to this melancholy ev6rit, the latest Auckland paper to hand says :- -The sad termination to the unfortunate quarrel at Reid's boarding-house has excited general commiseration for the untimely fate of the deceased man Wallace, who' was an indus trious, respeutable miner, some time manager of the Lucky Hit Company, and one of the principal witnesses in the celebrated Lucky Hib case, Campbell v. Macfarlane. He was a hale, hearty man, in the prime of life, and, so far as I can ascertain, unmarried. A Wanganui paper says : — An accident befel Mrs Thomas Handle}, While iv the yard of her house, picking up some wood chips, she accidentally stepped on the decayed wooden cover of the well, which gave way, and she was' at once precipitated to the bottom, a fall of thirty feet. Fortunately, several portions of the wood fell with her, and by these means she was saved from drowning, till Mr Lester came to her assistance. Mr Jacobsen's flax-mill, at Takaka, Nelson, was, on Friday last, burnt down ; but the full particulars we have not yet received. Mr Jacobsen states that he has made some important discoveries in the treatment of flax and cabbage tree fibre, the application of which this unfortunate occurrence' will no doubt retard. It is proposed to constitute, by an Act of the General Assembly, a Colonial Uuiveraity at Dunedin, provided the Council of the Otago University agree to its reconstruction. Should this he carried out, it cannot fail to be productive of the greatest benefit to the University, the status of which will be vastly improved, and which will then have many more chairs than it is likely to have for a considerable time to come under previously existing circumstances. The Otago members of the General Assembly are unanimously in favor of the proposed change. The Tapu correspondent of the Thames Advertiser gives the following anecdote :— ' ' A few days ago a miner was reading iv the Thames Advertiser about a gentleman engaged with saw-mills having 'filed his schedule.' A little boy, who heard him reading, then asked him, 'What's the difference between him filing his saw and filing his schedule ?' when- the following good definition was given : — 'People file their saws to cut their wood, but they file 'their schedules to cut their creditors." The Southern Cross (Mr Vogel's paper) characterises, the passing of the financial scheme of the General Government as " the most satisfactory piece of intelligence which we have been able to lay before our readers for many years past — we almost said, which has ever been published since New Zealand became a Colony." An accident of a serious character happened a few nights ago at the Comet Claim, Waiotahi Creek, Auckland. Two men, named John Williams and John Brownley, were working the shaft, and were in the act of charging a hole they had drilled, when the powder ignited, and the explosion that ensued hurled both men backwards in the tunnel, and rendering .them insensible. Happily help was at hand,, and the poor fellows were placed on stretchers and taken to the Hospital, where they received every attention at the hands of i)r. Lethbridge, the House Surgeon. Both- are badly burnt about the face and head, and their hands and arras are sadly cut ; but in neither case is it expected that loss of eye-sight will ensue. From Auckland we here that another case of presumed specimen-stealing was brought before the Court by Sub-Inspector Bullen, who briefly stated that he received information which induced him to arrest one James Wilson, and search his tent, in which he found several pounds weight of specimens;; The accused had been for some months employed in the Whau Company's mine, out of which the specimens were said to have been stolen. Subsequently to the arrest, the sub-inspector received from Auckland a warrant for the arrest of Wilson on the same charge, and he therefore asked the Court to remand the case to Auckland, where it would be gone into. The application was granted. A rather uucomfortable ceremony has lately been performed at Manawatu. A number of recent converts tothe Baptist faith went down to the river to be "dipped." A Rangitikei storekeeper, and a " shining light" from the West Coast, in the presence of all the inhabitants of-Foxton, escorted five ladies, one by one, into the Manawatu river. The water was excessively cold ; there was a fresh iv the river j and as the ladies stepped gingerly in through the muddy torrent, they squeaked most melodiously, as the water reached their waists. However, they and their gallants, being strong in faith, resolved to persevere, and on reaching the proper depth the ducking was accomplished. It was a pathetic and affecting scene. The Wairarapa man shook his shivering sister in faith solemnly by the hand, while the Eangitikei storekeeper, encircling her by the waist with his left ann, threw her back, and ducked her over head and ears in the turbid stream. This process was repeated five tjraes, and then the bedraggled sisterhood made tjie best of their way home, to don fresh garments, and imbibe hot-water gruel, as a precaution against influenza. • Three of the " ducked" ladies were married, and their husbands,' influenced by their laudable example, got ducked also. : The match made by Austin, the youthful pedestrian, now in Dunedin, to run eighteen miles within two hourc, although not completed, was entered into on Saturday week, at the Caledonian Society's grounds, in the presence of about 300 spectators. The match commenced at about a quarter to three, Austin going off at a steady but not rapid run, which he kept up until, beaten by the unfit state of the ground, he had to give in. His style of running was very fine, and was greatly admired by all who saw him. The distance was eighteen miles, oi 138 tunes round a 685 ft course, Hg, however, only succeeded in going 107 times round,'having to succumb to the exhaustion induced by having to run through the slush and mud at the back of the course. Beginning at 30 yards from the starting point, and going round to the highest point on the western side, the ground was exceedingly heavy, and quite unfit for running on. The time of doing the 107 rounds, being 13 miles and 256 yards, was 1 hour 36im'n'27sec; the time being taken by Messrs Dobbie and Milk, and Mr Mayor and Captain Atkinson being judges. Tho time was taken every ten laps, or . 1 mile 433 yds lft, and was as follows : — Ist ten laps, Bmin 3sec ; 2nd, lCmin 32sec j 3rd, 25min 12aec ; 4th, 33min 57sec j sth, 42miii 45sec ; 6th, 52ntin ; 7th, lh Otniu 42sec ; Bth, lh lOmin ; 9 th, lh 19min 22sec ; 10th, lh 29miu 18sec ; aud the remaining spyen laps in lh 36min 27sec. There is. little doubt that bad the ground been in proper order he would have dope the distance in the i time stipulated, although remarks were made on the ground that he did not care; about finishing the race as the bets on it were so pvr.