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Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 722, 3 September 1870, Page 2

The miners are returning from the reported gold field at Nepean, and pronounce it a hoax. A rifle match, shot between Sydney and Bristol, in England, has resulted, according to advices received by the mail, in a victory for Bristol. It is stated that gold has been found in encoYiraging quantities on the Nicholson' River, and that the prospecting party there have every confidence in future success. A considerable quantity of snow has lately fallen in the mountain regions of. Gipps Land, all the more elevated peaks being now completely covered. This has of course lowered the temperature in the lower country. "A slice of good luck," says the Golac Herald, " has lately befallen a member of the grazing fraternity (if report says true) residing in the vicinity of the Larpent. News by the last mail conveyed tho intelligence to the lucky man that a relative had ' shuffied off this mortal coil,', and left him a munificent legacy of L 42.000. A daring case of highway robbery is thus reported by the Gipps Land Merciwy : "A h-iwker, named George JFlant, was stnek up about eight miles from W ombat, near Ocneo,"- on the 10th inst. , and robbed of 220z of gold duat. 30s in silver, a silver verge watch, and a lady's gold chain. The robber had his hair, face, and hands blackened, and carried a' silver revolver, capped and cocked. The police throughout the district are on the look-out for the offender.". It is our pleasing duty to notice an act of commercial integrity on the part of an old trader in our community, such as it has seldom been in our power to record. Some eight years or so ago the firm of Messrs It. and H. Kerr, wholesale grocers in Collins street, Melbourne, were compelled to place their affairs in the hands of their creditors, and ask their fcrbearance. Since then Mr R. Kerr, the only representative of the firm, had been enablec. to accumlate in his present business as land agent an amount sufficient to pay off. all the liabilities in question, amounting to L 2,800 or L 3,000. The several creditors in the estate were accordingly surprised to find cheques for the various amounts due sent yesterday and the day before to their places of business, with the request that the same shxmld be credited. It may well be supposed that an a ct which reflects so favourably on Mr Kerr has been the subject of conversation ix commercial circles, and has met with general approbation. "An accident of a very painful nature," says the Ballarat Star, "took place at the claim of the Rose Hill Company, near Mount Rowan, on the road to Creswick. The claim i 3 at present let on tribute, and amongst the men at work at it were Ah. ■Tong and Ah Loaey, working as mates. They were on the night shift, and left the house whore they resided at a few minutes .before twelve, and started for the claim in order to. go on to work at midnight. As they approached the shaft Ah Tong was leading and was carrying a light, which suddenly went put. They proceeded in the dark, and as they reached t]je vicinity of the shaft, Ah Loaey warned his companion to take great care as to where he was going. Just as Ah Loaey spoke he missed Ah Tong from beside him, and a few seconds afterwards heard the noise of some heavy body falling into the bottom of the shaft, which was about 200 ft in depth. He Tailed to his companion, but no answer was returned, and he at once reported what had occurred to the captain of the shift. The latter, with the assistance of a miner, went clown to the bottom of the shaft, and found the body lying in about ten fuet of water. It was brought to the surface dead." "It may be remembered," says the Ballai at Skcr^ "that Mr Francis Crow] e, formerly of Creswick, was about five years ago totally deprived of sight, owing to a quantity of sulpheric acid being dashed in his face through the accidental breaking of a vessel containing the acid, which he was carrying in a conveyance from Ballarat, and whoj when sufficiently recovered, was forwarded home to the state of Maine by the kind aid of some friends at Creswick. Mr Crowle has transmitted to Mr T. W. Anthony, of the American Hotel, as a token of the good- feeling he has towards the locality, two quarts of the celebrated Norway oats, which are said to grow from five to six feet high, the heads being from 12in to 20in long, containing from 200 to 400 grains per head, yieldir g from 100 to 400 bushels per acre, and weighing from 401 b to 451 b to the bushel. Mr Anthony is distributing the oats amongst the different farmers of the district." Some particulars respecting Mr James Marshall, solicitor, who died in Melbourne lately, may be of interest to many who have known the deceased gentleman during the sixteen years of his life in this colony. He was, as we learn, one of the^ oldest members in the colony of the* Masonic fraternity, having been master of the " Ancient Lodge of Edinburgh Mary's Chapel," as early as 1830. Ho was subsequently Poet Laureate of the Canongate Kilwinning Lodge, chairman of the Law Committee of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and a Knight Templar. Previously Jo his arrival in this colony he had practised for 30 years in the Supreme Court of Sootland, chiefly in the criminal department of the law, during which time he also compiled several works on Scotch law, and contributed some dramatic sketches to the Edinburgh stage. During the last few years, having retired in a great measure from the active practice of his profession owing to his advanced years, he occupied himself principally with landscape-painting, of which he was a tolerably proficient amateur, his pictures generally gaining for him well-merited praise. The BaUarat Star contains an advertising announcement of a reward of LIO.OOO for the discovery of the agent who inserted certain advertiaements in. the newspapers some years back respecting one George Huxton Muir, of Kirkwall, Orkney. We are informed -that the person offering this large reward claims to be tho veritable George Huxton Muir referred to in those old advertisements, and that he further claims to be heir to large estates both in Italy and Scotland, and also to very large accumulations of money, and what is more wonderful still, to a dukedom in Italy and a baronetcy in Great Britain. The claim is made through his mother, whose maiden name was

Huxton. The matter seems to be en-, veloped in some little obscurity, in consequence, a3 Muir asserts, of his long residence (about 25 years) in the Colonies, having left; Kirkwall when he was sixteen years of age, and from hi 3 whereabouts being unknown to his friends -at home. It seems, however, that Muir was long resident and well known in the Smythsdale district, carrying on business as astorekeeper there, and was much respected as a shrewd and honorable man. In 1363-4 ■he went to Queensland, and whilst^there heard from different quarters that he had been advertised for by the testimony of several of his acquaintances who saw the advertisements. Babies seem to be rather at a discount on Ballarat just now, since they punish the killing of one by only nine months' imprisonment, which the prisoner will probably reduce to half the period by her exemplary demeanor while in durance. This is the punishment awarded 'to Anne Blair, an old reckless baby-farmer, who was convicted at the Criminal Sessions of having caused the death of an infant entrusted to her care. True, she didn't strangle it, or cut its throat, yet Bhe did the poor little creature creature to death as effectively by neglect and starvation ; and no doubt, when her time is up, she will resume her baby-farming operations as ruthlessly, if a little more cautiously, than before. What wonder that this species of child-murder flourishes when cases of detection are rare, and conviction is followed by only a few months' board and lodging at the public expense. There is even a species of baby-kilting of which the Jaw takes no cognisance at all, because it cannot be set down. to. criminal neglect. Such was the case of James Buggy, three months old, son of an unmarried woman named O'Connor, at Richmond. At the inquest held on the child's body, on Monday, it was shown that the mother, being a domestic servant, left him in charge of ; a married woman named Collins, who " brought him up by hand," the effect of it being, according to the medical evidence,-, -that the child died from lack of its natural nourishment. The j ury found that "no blame attached to the nurse."" Of course not,-r---nobody was to blame-r-although nothing could be clearer than the fact that the child died from improper treatment, i - 1 - - To judge from the reports in the Launceston papers, it would seem that the charge agaiust Mr Edward Smith, alias Copeland, alias Callaghan, for fraudulently obtaining a passage from Melbourne to Lannceston by the s.s. Tamar, has been the source of a good deal of interest and amiiaemeut to tbe dwellers in that town. It appears that on his arrival at Launceston he slipped quietly ashore, haying no luggage with him to encumber his movements. Captain Sannders, of the Tamar, described the missing passenger as a broken-down looking priest, with a rather strong Cork brogue. The description was so remarkably accurate, that next morning the visitor was apprehended, and taken to the police station before the warrant for his apprehension was signed. In the meantime, the new arrival, who was known on board the Tamar as Mr Copeland, had changed his name to Mr Callaghan, and had endeavored to enlist the national sympathies of the Rev. Dean Butler and the Yen. Archdeacon Browne in his favor, and failed signally. He had introduced himself to them as Mr Callaghan, an Irish barrister who had practised in Cork, Dublin, Liverpool, and in New Zealand, but his credentials were not sufficient to establish his identity with any Irish barrister. On arrival at the station he was no longer Mr Callaghan, but Mr Edward Smith, though still an Irish barrister. The reason for this change became obvious, for, on searching him, a certificate was found with him showing that Edward Smith, Esq;; of Suffolk street, Dublin, had been duly enrolled a barrister-at-law of the Queen's Bench. This was dated in February, 1867, and, according to a statement previously made, Mr Smith, alias Mr Oopeland, must bayfe been practising in New Zealand -at' that period as Mr Callaghan." The police, court examination seems to have been a highly amusing scene with the defendant's whimsical questions, rambling arguments, and reference to the 38th section of Chity, all delivered in a fine Milesian brogue, which is to some extent reproduced in tj|e reports. At last the defendant was 'made to understand that he was remanded for six days, that evidence might be procured from Melbourne as to his not having paid his passage money. The Fiji Times gives the following particulars of the murder of Mr Harcourt. The unfortunate gentleman, it- will be remembered, was the son of Mr J. T. Harcourt, M.L.A. for Richmond. "It appears that the schooner Mount Maclavren, when in latitude 3degS., longitude 172deg E., was becalmed, and at nighty there being no appearance of a change in the weather, all hands (consisting of three white men, including Mr Harcourt, overseer to Mr Holmes's plantation, Taviuni, and a Line man who was taken by Mr' Harcourt from his plantation for the purpose of acting as interpreter) turned ir, and the night being fine Mr Harcouri? lay clown to sleep on deck, the others retiring below. About2a.m. tbosebelowwereawakened by a blow on the deck, which was immediately foUowed by anotheram)jipanied by a groan. They immediately rushed on deck, and found poor Harcourt with two • of his fingers cut off and his head split open by a tomahawk. He was, however, able to speak, and gave tho following account — that while lying asleep he was awakened by the Line man making a blow at him which severed his fingers, and caused the first noise heard "by those, below, but before he could recover his" self-command the savage made a second blow which cut a frightful gash on the side of his head. . On searching for the Line man he was nowhere to be found, having jumped overboard, and escaped from the death he so justly deserved to meet it in a watety tl • vessel at the time being over 100 miles from the nearest land. Mr Harcburt survived his woind some days, but mortification set in from the wounds received on his hand, anl finding its way up his arm, terminate! in death on the eighth, day. The crew can attribute no motive for the crime, unless that Mr Harcourt," who was strict in the work.ing of hi 3 plantation, had, at some- time or other, ofiended the savage who had thus bought his vengeance with the lives of both. No date to this sad affair is supplied to us, but it is supposed to have taken place about two months since. The Mount Maclarren is reported to be in a very leaky condition, and it wa3 doubtful if she vould pro seed to Fiji previous to being hauled up for repairs." '-■■.