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Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 710, 6 August 1870, Page 2

Last evening the members of the Volunteer Fire . Brigade held a conference with the principle property owners in town, for the purpose of explaining their present financial position, and devising some means to get out of present difficulties.' J. Kilgour, fisq, Mayor, wa3 called oo the chair. He read a letter from Messrs. Thompson, Snu'th and Barklay, excusing the non-attendance of

tlic representatives of the. firm, anil explained the ohjeeb of the meeting, which vas simply that the Fire Brigade were indebted in a largo amount for necessary expenses, and required, additions to their appliances, but it was no part of their duty to go round and collect money. 'It was the duty of the owners of property to find the ways and means to keep the Brigads in proper appliances if they manifested their effiency. Mr Harrison had endeavored to get a Bill through the Assembly to levy a rate for the maintenance of Fire Brigades, but it had been defeated, and the duty now devolved upon every property holder to do what lie could towards the maintenance of tho Fire Brigade, as that was their only security. Mr J. C. Moore, Secretary of the Brigade, read a statement of accounts, which snowed that their liabilities amounted toLIIB 13s9d, made up of small sums forthe supply of necessary materials and repnirs to machinery ; that LIOO worth of new plant was required to properly equip tho Brigade ; that the. assets amounted to only LU" 16s 9d, leaving the amount required by the Brigade L 206 17s. Captain Wball entered into explanations' with regard to the additional plant required, which were" a ladder carriage, hose reel, and immediate repairs to the present hose reel, and engines, so as to keep everything efficient for any emergency, and in order to be able to reach the roofs of the high buildings, which were now being erected in town. Tho plant on hand had cost over LI6OO, and it was the duty of the .residents to keep it in efficient working order, bnt he anticipated no difficulty if a proper committee was appointed, because ihe residents had always "come down handsome" whenever they were asked on behalf of the Fire Brigade. The Chairman then moved "That the following gentlemen be appointed a committee to take any steps they may think proper to raise the requisite funds to relieve the Fire Brigade from their present financial difficulties. For the West Ward, Messrs W. F. Strike, Hildebrand, and H. Whitmore. For the Middle Ward, Messrs W. Glenn, W. Kilgour, M. Kennedy. bY the East Ward, Messrs E. Masters, D. Sheedy, and G. W. Nichol. Mr Hildebrand seconded the motion, which was supported by Messrs Wickes and Parkinson, and was carried unanimously. Captain Whall thanked the Mayor for the trouble he had taken in the matter, and the property-holders for their attendance, and trusted that the object for which the meeting had been called would fee fully realised. This was carried with acclamation and the meeting adjourned. A series of pedestrian matches has been arranged for LI 00 a-side, between Patrick Twohill, of Greymouth, and Robert Howie, of Hokitika, to be decided by' five events: at various distances, over the Greymouth Racecourse, on the 17th and 19th September. The distances are— loo, 150, 200, 250, and 300 yards, the winner of three events to, be the winner of the stakes. The first deposit of L4O a man was placed in our hands last night. The second is due on the sth Septemper, and the balance on the 16th, the day before the races. The articles of agreement are drawn out in the ordinary form, and are deposited with us.

We regret to have to report the somewhat sudden death of Mr Basire, the much respected. Postmaster at Port Chalmers, by the bursting of a bloocl-veF3el. He leaves a -wife and five children to mourn his loss, and was esteemed by a large circle of friends.. The Bank of New South Wales in Greymoubh has, by resolution of the Board of Directors in Sydney been made one of the hea-.l offices in the-Colony, and we are glad to say that Mr Gilbert King, who has acted as Agent here since the first settlement of the district, has been appointed Manager. The new hall in Manchester street, Christchurch, erected by the St. Augustine Lodge, will be opened on the lObh iust. A boy about two years old, the son of Vlr Wright, former, Draiu Road, Ranpiorn, was accidentally drowned on the' lst iust., whilst playing near his house, by falling wto a waterhole about 18 inches 'deep. Life was extinct before medical aid arrived. The meeting of the PubUc Library Committee, called for last night, was postponed until Monday evening, at Mr Newton's office, at seven o'clock, in consequence of a number of the members being lequired at other public meetings. An Oaraaru paper states that an upholsterer in that town is now using flax refuse for stuißug mafctrasses.

.Sadden deaths are becoming numerous in the Ctago Province. Two have occurred in the Tuapeka district within the last week. At Docherty's crossiug, a shepherd named Gunn, who was employed at Spylaw Station, died suddenly from aneurism of the heart, from which he had been suffering for a fortnight. He had been a patient at the Lawrence Hospital, and on the day in question was returning homeward in rather better health. The jolting of the waggon in which he was riding appears to have hastened his death. On Wednesday a man named Todd, who had recently taken up a clam adjoining Coombe's, Manuka Creek, died suddenly while- at work in his claim. From Timaru we hear that ou Thursday last, as Mie mail coach was crossing the Waiho Eiver, . coming north, it was capsized and washed down the stream. The horses were drowned. Knight, the driver, stuck to the coach as long as he could, but, it being turned over and over by the force of' the current, he was obliged to let go. Knight waa washed against a steep shingle bank, and was dragged out by a man, who was the only passenger, and who, at the time of the accident, was with Knight on the box. The coach was washed over a mile down the stream, and is much damaged. All the mail bag 3 were saved, except the Waitangi bag and Mr Buckley's private bag; The Waiho was in heavy fresh at the time of the accident. A melancholy accident occurred by fire to Mary Brown, a girl three years of age, residing with her parents at the South Selwyn, Canterbury, on the evening of the 26th ult. It would appear that the unfortunate girl was nursing a younger member of the family whilst her mother was performing the usual outside domestic duties j her father, who was employed .close to the house," on hearing repeated screams of distress, rushed to the house and discovered that the poor girl was enveloped in fUunes. The fire was. immediately extinguished, but not before injuries of a serious character had taken place. Mr Miller, of Leeston, was called iv, but that gentleman pronounced her cn.se as hopeless. She died five hours after the event. The Melbourne J)ailt/ Tdgraph has reference to tlii3 colony in the folLvwino eulogistic terms :— A wonderful country is Now Zealand, and with a grandfuture. Here is the cloud to-day, but the sunshine tomorrow. With wild mountain, scenery .6f a grandeur unsurpassed in the world, she must breed a brave people. With fertile plaiugfor cultivation, a chain of harbors for commerce, and with gold and iron and coal in profusion, 3he must be ultimately rich and powerful. Jf Australia is likely, gas Sir Charles Dilke declares,, tq revive the glories of ancient Greece, New Zoahind is distined mire clearly to rivjil the material wealth and forco of the mother isles in the German Ocean. Some of hew* difficulties are fast vanishing. The native question is solving itself into one direction, and tbeequallyimportantnativeflax question is being solved in another. Mills have been for some time at work in all parts of the isle, and the prolific weed is already a profitable

article of export. Now we bear of another hopci'ul venuii.ro. The iron sand of Taranaki, which has presented a tempting mine of wcalth-to the gaze of the colonist for yeare past has, we are assured, at last been make available. Whether in the new mode of fusing the deposit we have the touch of the magician's wand, which will transform Tarnnaki into the Birmingham of the South, it is not fnr us to say at present. But that touch mnsb some day be given ; the iron she has in such abundance will be utilised some day as surely as the native flax has been. We read with interest of the experiments which have been made with the ore at a local foundry. Others may be. interested in the probability of our obtaining iron — the sta-T of life for a nation — from asistercolony, instead of from a far-off old world. Circumstances are forcing daily upon the Australias the necessity of being self-contained. j An Otago paper states that three dredging machines are in course of construction on the Shotover. The . Nil Desperanduni Com- " pany are building theirs at Arthur's Point, and intend taking it up as far as the Sandhills by a rather novel process in use on Canadian rivers. The modus operandi is to fit the vessel with two paddle-wheels like a steamboat, but attached to a moveable shaft, so that they can be depressed, elevated, or entirely lifted out of the water. A long warp line is securely fixed some distance ahead on shore. This, in its turn, is attached to a powerful winch on board the vessel. The fact of heaving on the rope, or rather holding the vessel against the current, gives motion to the paddle-wheels, which materially assist to forge the vessel ahead. Messrs M'Kay, the builders of the Nil Desperandum dredge, are confident that their vessel will, by these novel meaus, successfully stem the current of the Shotover. We must say that with these gentlemen nothing seems impossible.- They succeeded in bringing the steamer Victoria up from the falls at- Frankton, placing her safely on Lake Wakatip from the Kawarau river. They now propose to raise the Wakatip steamer from her three years' submersion in Queenstown Bay. With men of this enterprising stamp among us, the district cannot help going ahead. . :

On Tuesday, 16th July, two men in the employ of Mr'D. Hutcheson, of Coal Point, Otago, were drowned by the upsetting of! a boat in which they had attempted to boajrd 'the cutter Hope, off Moeraki. The crew cdnsisted of John Cook, Enoch Wickstrain, akd William Green. The two former clung ito the keel of the boat, and the latter supported himself with an oar. Cook, who was a goisd swimmer, left the boat ard attempted ;to reach the shore, but, after swimming 200 yards, sank. Wickstrain held on a few minutes longer, but the boat drifting closeito a rock, he also tried to swim. A rope was thrown to him, which he unfortunately missed, arid clung awhile to some kelp ; but before assistance could be rendered he sank. Green, who was no swimmer, clung to the oar, and drifted towards the rock, but suddenly sank, and would -have shared the same fate as the others but for the frallaut conduct of a mau named Smith, who swam through the breakers and fastened a rope round him, by means of which Mr Hutcheson, aided fey a man named Cruickshank, dragged him on shore. He was conveyed to Mr Hutcheson's ■ residence, and although exhausted was brought round by the kind and efficient treatment he received. The bodies of the drowned men have not been recovered. Cook was a Scotchman, about 28 years of age, and has left a widow and child. Wickstrain was a Swede, a single man, about 24 years of age. Mr Yogel. it will be remembered, stated in his speech in reply in the financial debate, that if the conditions on which the Imperial guarantee of the Million Loan had been granted, precluded the Colony from further borrowing until that loan was taken up, the Government would refuse the guarantee. "We learn from a Parliamentary paper just published, that the Home Commissiqner3 have forwarded a telegram, dated 14th May, to Mr Fox, in which they say, referring to the terms on which the guarantee is given : — " We have accepted this offer on behalf of the Colony, as measure of conciliation, which would be taken throughout New Zealand as proof of continued goodwill of Imperial Government. Details of arrangement will be sent by present mail, to, enable Assembly to pass neesssary Acts. " As Mr Yogel stated that "the Government were not yet aware [both mails having arrived] what the conditions were" on which the guarantee had been granted, we are led to infer that the details of arrangement were not sent by the mail, and consequently thei*e is a possibility of a fresh and very serious complication arising between the Commissioners and their colleagues in Wellington.

If the story told by a man named William Mitchell in the Tuapeha Times be true, he is ir.uch to be cominisseroted. An unfortunate instance of mistaken identity, he was apprehended at Tapanui, on a charge of being concerned in a. late robbery at Waikouaiti, brought before the Lawrence Bench, and remanded to Dunedin, where he was politely told he was not the man wanted, who was much older than he aud an Englishman. The police authorities would not take him back further than Lawrence, and it was only as a great obligation that he got a shake-down at the camp the night he returned to Lawrence. From Port Chalmers we learn that the preparations made by Mr Taylor's friendd to signalise his expected return as mayor — to tell the truth, it Avas more than expected, it was considered certain - were very complete ; but unfortunately the whole plot became known in the enemy's camp. Mr Taylor, it must be remembered, lives in a very elevated portion of the marine to wu skip, and possesses a conspicuous, flagstaff. In accordance with the preconcerted arrangement, immediately after the result of tbc polling was made known, fa whibe handkerchief was exhibited at the end of the jetty, and forthwith Taylor's battery fired a salute, and the flagstaff was gaily decorated with bunting. Of course, the illusion was soon dispelled, a- horseman having been despatched with a true account. No wonder Mr Taylor was disappointed ; to be beaten was bad enough, but to be made the means of celebrating his opponent's victory was almost adding insult to injury. It need hardly be said that the signal was given by an opponent of Mr Taylor." A public meeting was held at Leach's Eureka Hotel, Paroa, on Thursday evening to consider the financial policy of the General' Government. The meeting was very numerously attended, in fact the room was so crowded that a number of men were obliged to 'remain outside.. Mr Leach wa9 appointed chairman, and introduced Air Garreras, M.C.C. Mr Carreras explained the position that the Council would be in if the Government scheme was adopted, and hoped the meeting that night would be unanimous in protesting against it. He showed how unjustly they were dealt by in only having two representatives in the Assembly for a population of 13,500, whilst Otago had 16 members for a population of 70,000. If population was the basis on which representation was made, then Westland was unjustly dealt by. Again, if it was based on the productions, or the revenue derived from different provinces., tlioa \vp wore still unfaWy used, for during tsircja quarters Westland had produced almost as much gold (less only about two thousand ounces) as Otago, aud her revenue was upwards of LI OO, OOO, which fairly entitled her to six or seven members. He read the petition which the County Council had for?

■warded to the General Assembly. He also showed plainly that if some alteration was nob made the County would be in a serious posifciou, and then produced the resolution which had been adopted to be forwarded to the Assembly. The first resolution was proposed by Mr A. Skelton, and seconded' by Mr B. Hopkins. The second Mr A. Matheson proposed, and Mr Peter Campbell seconded. The third Mr John Dowling proposed, and was seconded- by Mr Owen M'Elwell. The fourth w«« proposed by Mr Hopkins, and seconded by Mr A. Reymond. All these resolutions wore put seriatim, and unanimously adopted. Mr Carreras thcu said' as that part of. tue business was over, he was then prepared to answer any question thab might be put to him respecting any of his actions in the County Council. He had been much vilified by the press, and some parties had sent him anonymons letters. He was now prepared to meet any accusation that might be made against him, and he wished them to understand that if they wanted him to represent them at the nest election that; they would have to do so by requisition. He was asked to give some explanation respecting the new miniug laws. He entered fully into the difficulties that had baen encountered by the County Chairman in getting them approved of by the Government, and afterwards remitted to the Council, and that they had yet to be passed, and thai, till they were the miners were without ?iiy laws, for the old ones were now of no ur? in facb, there were no mining laws now tfTTtil the new ones were approved of, which, if they were in their present form, would' necessitate a survey and registration, whatever size the claim might be. After a few other remarks the meeting broke up, with the usual vote of thanks. Mr Carreras was very well received, and his remarks met with general approval. The present win ter (say 3 the Dumtan Times) is the dullest we have ever experienced ; but this seems proverbial everywhere. Yioin floods and bad roads trade is almost universally prostrate. Instead of the Molvneux being low and the dredging machines and beach claims yielding up a rich harvest, pi gold, they are all in a state of idleness, and scores of men, who might have been earning good wages had the season been favorable, have been compelled to leave the district and seek work elsewhere. The causes, both local and otherwise, from which the present depression results, are happily of a temporary character, and are rapidly being removed. The fine frosty weather is causing the river to fall rapidly. The supplies of water running into Lakes Wakatip and Wanaka are now so ice-bound, that they scarcely run at all, and both lakes are gradually becoming lower, and with such favorable news from the chief sources of supply, there is every probability that the Molyneux will go down low enough yet. The roads are improving fast, and lodomotion is by no means so difficult as was the case a week since. It is certaiuly better to be late than never, and instead of giving way to despondency, we should find consolation in the fact that there is plenty of time for a prosperous sea9on ere the summer is upon us. An Otago correspondent sends the following :— " On the night of the 14tH inst. the ,the Eev. Father Royer, Catholic clergyman (late of Greymouth), who, since his arrival here, has by his kind and amiable qualities, won the respect .of all classes of the community, delivered an aide and Kighly instructive lecture on Education, in aid of the St. .Bathan's School Fund The Rev. gentleman was listened to by a large audience with intense interest. Seldom has the inhabitants of St Bathan's been favoured with such an intellectual treat. After the lecture the Eev. gentleman distributed some valuable Erizes to the scholars attending the National chool (the examination of which had taken place the same day). A vote of thanks was proposed, seconded, and carried, by acclamation to the Rev. lecturer for his kindness in responding so cheerfully on behalf of the rising generation in this place, it being desirable that such sound views on so important a subject should bo more widely disseminated. Father Royer at the requeso of the leading men in tee district has kindly consented to allow the lecture to be printed. I shall send you a copy as soon as it is issued from the press.