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Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 721, 1 September 1870, Page 2

We recently mentioned that the Warden on the Kelson side (Mr Wbitefoord), while on a visit to the recently-discovered cement lease at" Murray Creek,' washed out some precious stones from a dish of dirb. Two of them were sent to Melbonrne, and were returned hy the last steamer cub and polished beautifully. The lapidaries pronounce the one to be a sapphire and the other a zircon. As the has usually only been found hitherto in the island of .Ceylon, we may state that it is a mineral containing the earth zirconica and silica, occurring in prisms of brown and gray colors, occasionally red, and often nearly transparent. A red variety i 3 called a hyacinth. Those specimens of the riches of the Grey District are well worth

seeing, as they must prove to the most sc3ptical that very little is yet known about the true resources of the Little Grey District. A slight shock of earthquake was felt in ] town about half-past six o'clock last night. | I The Grey River Hospital is at present in want of a quantity of old linen and cotton for use as bandages, and any person possessing even the smallest quantity will be kindly ' thanked by the Managing 'Committee for sending jt in without delay. On behalf of the patients, we have again to appeal to the public for a supply of books, periodicals, or newspapers, anything, readable, that will enable them to pass an hour pleasantly. We hope to be able to announce a list of contributions in a few days. We recently announced the withdrawal, by proclamation, of 300 acres from the. town of Greymouth, but it appears we were in error in stating that that Act would enable Mr Warden Revell to deal with the mining disputes which occurred within that area, as the said proclamation di<l not replace it within. the Gold Fields. 16 may be a yiece of officialism, hnb we bare "licavd th.ifc another proclamation is required to give the Ware 1 en power over the mining claims included in the piece of the township referred to. It is to be regretted that for tbe List two evenings the Christy Minstrel Troupe have beeu attended by such poor houses. Certainly the merits of the members of the Company d 'serve a handsome recognition at the hands ef the residents, for it is very seldom that we can expect to have a first-class Christy Minstrel Troupe catering for our amusement. A first-rate programme is put cut for to-night, and it is to be hoped there will be a full house, when the Christy's give a benefit to the Volunteer Brass Band, and the members of the Rifle Volunteer Corps will appear in full uniform. We believe the Minstrels intend shortly to pay a visit to the Ahaura, Napoieon Hill, Paroa, and Marsden, where they will no doubt be warmly welcomed. A meeting of the parishioners of Trinity Church was held on Tuesday evening, for the purpose of considering the desirability of largely extending the sitting accommodation in the Church. The Vestry reported that tenders had been called for the work, and five had been received. These were opened, and were found to range from L 350 to L4BO. It was moved by Mr W. Kilgour.and carried— " That a necessity exists for increased accommodation in the Church, and that the Vestry be authorised to accept one of the tenders." Afterwards the Vestry met and resolved to allow the consideration of the tenders to stand over for a fortnight. We have good authority for stating that the chai'ges which have been made by Mr Barff and otheis against the Nelson Government officers in charge .of the Bruuuer Coalmine, with regard to short weight, are false, so far as they are concerned. Full allowance is made for screening the coal at the mine, but in certain conditions of the river the bargemen often leave more than a ton behind them in. the shoots, aiul it has been reported to us that in coming down the falls and bars in the river they ofiei throw a ton overboard to lighten the boat, and when the cargo is put on board the steamer or sailing craft they say nothing about it, but simply present the way bill obtained at the mine: Wherever the fault lies the subject requires further investigation, in order to remedy what is at present "a crying evil." Another melancholy case of drowning occurred in the river at two o'clock on Tuesday, when by some unexplained accident, a young man named William Hall fell off the timber-wharf of Messrs Rae and Wickes, opposite Boundary itreet, and was drowned before assistance could be rendered him. The following evidence, taken from the inquest held in the Hibernian Hotel, before W. H. Revell, Esq., will explain the occurrence as far as the circumstances are known : — James Hicks :lam a fishmonger. I only knew the deceased by sight working on the timberwharf of Rae and Wickes. 1 was fishing on the steps opposite the Royal Hotel on Tuesday, at two o'clock, when I heard a splash ; In I looked, and saw a man in the water. I called ouc that a man had fallen in the river, and looked for a boat. There was no boat near the steps at the time. A man who was fishing for whitebait with a long stick and net, ran down to put the stick out for deceased to catch hold of it. The deceased fell in with his face to the Cobden side and never turned round. The stick was too far away to reach him. The first time he came up he had his pipe in his mouth, and I thought he could swim from the steady manner in fwhich he behaved in the .vater. He shouted out something, but I cannot say what it was, I was so excited at the time. He was on the surface some time, but did not seem to use his arms. I saw him sink before any assistance could be given him. I did not see any one on the timber- wharf at the time. I was about 60 or 70 yards from the deceased. He only rose once. — Edward Hunt : lam a smith. 1 knew the deceased by the name of Hal], I saw him one nvimite before the accident on the timber-wharf of Rae and Wickes. He appeared to me to put out his hand to hold on by one of the outer piles to enable him to look up the river to see if the boat with timber was coming down. I could see ro other person on tbe* wharf. I went into the Empire Hotel, right opposite the wharf, for only a minute, when I heard the cry "a man overboard," and saw a rush of people to the wbarf. 1 ran to the steps to see if 1 could help him as he floated past. I did not see him floating in the water ; he had sunk, but his cap floated past. I did not theD know wlo was in the river.- 1 *- Captain Allardyce, Hf.rbov-mastcr, proved getting some drags and a line from the p. s. Dispatch, and after about half an hour's work managed lo bring the deceased to the surface. He was quite dead then. He identified the body as that of William Hall— John Hall : The deceased William Hall was my brother. He was working on the wharf for Rae and Wickes. He was in my house on Monday night, and my wife said he appeared to be rather cu!l. He was always healthy and not subject to fits, and very sober. I never saw him tho worse for liquor. I believe he slipped oil the wharf, tfe was 21 years of age The jury returned a verdict of "accidental dea'h." Who is to be the new Minister of Public Works is a question much talked of. The Hon. Colonel Russell is believed to be casting longing eyes towards the office, road-makinu and office being two of his hobbies ; but it is not likely that anyone in the Upper House, or oucside the Lower one, will be appointed. It is- also probable that a Middle Island man will be preferred, and the general impression is, that if Mr Dillon Bell returns in time he will be entrusted with tho portfolio. Some people 1 a 7e whispered the name of Mr Macandrew, but the idea of entrusting the expenditure of a million or two per annum to that gentleman would not be very highly approved of, and the mere mention of such a thing would seal the. fate of both Ministry and scheme. " A veiy distressing and fatal accident occurred at Otakia, Otago, lately, which resulted in the death of a little boy, four years of age, sen of Mr M'Ewan, farmer. The little fellow had apparently been amusing himself outside for a short time, and upon Mrs M'Ewan looking out she noticed the pigstye on fire. She immediately ran towards it with water to extinguish it. In the 'icantinie the fire was observed by Mr M'Ewan from the field where he was engaged ploughing. Bo at once unhooked one of his horses

and galloped to the spot. Upon his arrival he commenced to pull down a portion of tha stye, nnd was horrified to get hold, amongst the debris, of ono of his child's legs. The body was lying upon its back dead, and quite charred with the fire. It is supposed that before the boy had gone out he had. got hold of some matches, and the- pigstye being empty had wandered in there and ignited the matches, setting fire to the loose straw, the stnake from which had so overpowered or confused him that he was unable to get out of the way of the flames, by which he must have speedily besn enveloped. Mjuch syn.pathy is felt for the family in their sudden and terrible affliction. Dr Bruen, M.R.C.S., Ireland, purposes practising his profession iv Westport aud neighborhood. The fire engine and hose for the Westport Fire Brigade have been shipped from London on board the British Envoy, for Melbourne, from whence they will be transmitted here by first opportunity. Professor De Lorre, the celebrated wizard and .champion swordsman, arrived at Hokitika on Tuesday, and purposes giving a series of entertainments at the Duke of Edinburgh Theatre. The W. C. Times states that the recent appointment of Mr Hof ton has been disallowed, and that a favorite of Mr Yogel, a gentleman of the name of Hinohcliffe, lately Clerk of the Bench at Port Chalmers, has been appointed as clerk to the Kanieri district. . I In reference to the Clyde robbery of gold, it is reported that a telegram has been received in Dunedin giving a few particulars as to how the man Rennio was" induced to confess. He was suspected by a person in the employ of Mr Hallenstein, of Queenstown, who supplied him with drink, and when he was in a state of intoxication obtained from him a confession of his share in the robbery. The policeman, M 'Lennan, is the son of a respectable Scotch farmer, and by trade is a workiug engineer, The block of buildings extending from the National Hotel to the Waterman's Arms, Westport, has been purchased by Messrs Falla and Tonks and Hughes. The buildings in their j>resent situation are not available for business purposes, the river encroachment having checked the traffic in this portion of the town. Some of the structures are however, of a substantial kind, and, where consisting of galvanised iron, readily admit of being moved to sites more conveniently situated. The Gold Duty Bill, providing an advalorem duty upon the export of gold, has been read a second time in the House of Representatives. The alteration is not one that has formed the subject of any serious contention of the miners, as the banks are almost the pole exporters of the precious metal, and they possess sufficient means at their command to avoid the disadvantage of exporting metal containing a quantity of alloy. The proposed change will not have the effect of au increased price given for gold, while it will render the collection of the duty less simple and open the way for fraud being practiced upon the revenue. A serious accident occurred at Addison's Flab on the 27th August, to a miner, named D. Maloney, at the mining claim known as Black and party's. Maloney, it appears, went down the shaft and was under the impression that Black was at the windlass ; the latter had, however, gone and in consequence Maloney was precipitated to the bottom of the shaft, a depth of upwards of forty feet, both his legs beiug broken by the fall. The injured man was conveyed to the District Hospital, whnen it was discovered a compound fracture of both limbs. A four-roomed house, the property of Mr John Greenfield, and situated in Wharfe street, Oamaru, was destroyed by fire at about 11 p.m. on tho loth inst. Mr Greenfield, it appears, went to bed at about 9. 15 p. in. , and having to be at work at 4on the following morning, he left the fire burning in the kitchen. At about 11 p.m one of his children awoke, and he, on getting out of his bed to attend to it, suv a light shining through the opening between the door and the floor of the bedroom, and on opening the door he saw a fire in the kitchen chimney, and the jjaper on the wall in a blaze. He at once rushed to the house of his next door neighbor, and, having raised an alarm, returned, but had scarcely time to remove the children from the house, and was burned whilst doing so. It was impossible to save the furniture, as the house, which was built of wood, became- so quickly enveloped in flames. The building was insured in the Royal Insurauce Company for L 250. The Arrowtown correspondent of the Cromwell A rgics (Otago) writes to that journal as follows :— " The weather has had a visible influence oa mining all over the district, frozen-out sluicers being the order of the day on higher grounds ; but where work is practicable, results are not below the average. The Chinese claim at tbe township — smothered at the last flood— is now being re-opened by a fresh gang of Celestials, who are evidently determined on making a strong job of it this time. Throughout the district, John is getting his full share of the gold, playing havoc with the ground wherever he locates ; at the Twelve-mile becoming in that respect, the intolerable nuisance he is everywhere else. Farming operations out of doors have been slightly retarded by , the frost. There is little to notice at this dead season of tha ypar. Nearly every waggon which arrives here brings some ponderous bundles of fruit trees. 'The -number of trees planted last year in the township and neighbourhood was something enormous, and, to judge by the preparations making, the oiming season bids fair to eclipse the last. It is not planting a few trees merely for pleasure, but planting them in huudre Is for profit. The Westport Times informs ii 3 that a melancholy and- fatal accident occurred near Caledonia Terrace on the 29th nit., resulting in the death of a miner named Joseph Pufflett, and the serious injury of his brother Robert Pufllett. From what w.e can eather, there were three men in the claim, which is : situate on a " spur leading to Donovan's Creek, and within a short distance of Caled >nia 'Let rae \ The party were working by ground-sluicing, the two brothers being engaged at the face, while a third attended to the boxes some distance away. The decensed, Avhen the accident occurred, had charge of the hose, and the elder with a shovel was easing down the face, when a large mass of earth gave way unexpectelly, completely burying the deceased, and covering the survivor to the throat. The third mate, owing to the position of the boxes, was not in view of the accident; which was fortunately witnessed by Peter Gray and anfttJicv man, who immediately made for the scene, and who succeeded, after half an hour's la''or, in extricating the snrviving brother. Joseph Pufflett, when discovered, was found to be dead, and, but for the timely assistance, Robert must have met with a similar fate, one man, nhilo the work of ex-tri:-atii>n proceeded, being frilly engaged kvcpiini him free from the debris that continn?d fco fall. The survivor is very much crushed rai 1 bruised, and it was deemed expoHoiib l»y.Dr Thorpe, who was quickly iv attsn 'r.ii-jj not to remove him.