THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 1871.

Grey River Argus, Volume XI, Issue 889, 2 June 1871, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 1871.

Owing to the pressure of telegraphic news, we arc compelled to hold over our usual leader. Mr W. Leach has received a large requisition from the electors of Paroa requesting him to become a candidate for the representation of that district, to which Mr Leach consented. The requisition appears in another column. A movement in favor of establishing a woolen cloth factory has bee.i initiated at Christchurcb. ' An application was made to Dr Hector, late on Wednesday night, that he would deliver a lecture during his stay in Greymouth, in aid of the Volunteer Fire Brigade. The reply returned is to the effect that Dr Hector cannot fiud time to give a lecture during his present vist, but he will do so on some future occasion. We notice that Dr Hector has promised to deliver a lecture on the geology of Westland during his visit to Hokitika. We are informed that very great necessity exktsfor a few turnouts being made between Marsden and Clifton. At present it is impossible for any horseman to pass pack horses, and two or three turnouts would remedy this inconvenience. It would be well for the Paroa Koad Board to direct the person employed in keeping this track in repair to do the necessary work. The track itself is very rough and much worn, and needs replacing in portions. A man named Hardman has been fined 20s i and costs, for shooting a goal; within the 1 boundary of the town of Shortland. He 1 alleged, in mitigation of the offence, that the goat had been a source of great annoyance to him for two years, and that on tbe previous Snnday it had got into his house and eaten up all the bread, in consequence of which he and his family had to starve until tbe following day. A miner named Phillip M'Mahon was accidentally killed on Friday at the Eight mile Diggings (Hokitika district). He and his mates were engaged in a sluicing claim, and had run off a quantity of the top stuff, and were working at the face of the claim, which was about eight feet high, when the guard gave way, suddenly killing the man we mention, and injuring his two mates. He was a native of the County Cavan. Mr Warden Revell held Courts at Clifton on Wednesday, for the disposal of mining cases and cases under the jurisdiction of the Resident Magistrate's Court. The following business was transacted— R. M.'s Court : J. Cahill was fined os for drunkenness. Civil cases : M 'Cannon v. M'Genty ; a fraud summons for L 2 12s j defendant ordered to pay amount in one month, or in default a month's imprisonment. In the cases Freeman v. Moore, LI 10s ; Phillips v. Cox, L 44 2s 9d ; there was no appearance of either parties, R. Card v. Meehan, L 22 53 2d, and O'Shannessy v. O'Brien, L 4; judgment by default. Cahill v. Purcell, L 6; adjourned for 14 days. In the Warden's Court. D. Wonnall was lined LI and costs for carrying on business without a license. In the case Cahill v. Purcell, in which defendant was charged with refusing to allow one head of water to run in the creek, tbe evidence of plaintiff and defendant was so conflicting, and no other evidence forthcoming, that the Warden dismissed the case. The census returns give the population of the Province of Wellington at 23,282, being an increase of 2032 since the last census. Similarly, the population of the city of Wei]iu»ton is set down at 7890. or 589 more than in 18C7. The census returns of the population of Centerbury have been published. They show the total population of the province to be 46,801, of whom 25,781 are males, and 21,029 females. The population of the sub-districts of Cbristchurch. East and West is set down at 5697 and 6769 respectively, making a total of 12,466. News is to hand from Auckland that Mr Bannerman, lately manager of a bank at Bendigo, and at present residing at Onelmnga, while apparently iusane, attacked his wife furiously, and then with a revolver defied any one to touch hjni. He was arrested with j difficulty. His wife is in a dangerous state. | The Westland Independent of yesterday says that the gap at the south end of Revell street, now being made by the river, is serious. Last night it Mas very considerably increased, and unless steps are taken at once the houses in that quarter may be washed away. From the subjoined, taken from the Press of Saturday last, it would appear that the West Coast is to be favored with the presence of the Australian pedestrians: — "Messrs Harris and Hewitt, the champion pedestrians, left yesterday, per Eangitoto, for Dnnedin, to fulfil a short engagement in that city, at the conclusion of which they will return to Christchurch, en route to Hokitika and the West Coast. Hewitt's h»lf-mil« race will take place at an early date after return to Canterbury, and notwithstanding the distauco to be covered in ao short a time, he is very sanguine of being able to do it. Bird remains in Canterbury, and is in active training for his twelve -mile race with Austin, taking a spin of seven or eight miles every morning on the racecourse." The following is one of the reconi nendations of the Otago Mining Conference :— '•That no mining interest shall be forfeited by reason of the owner not holding a miner's right, nor shall any person not holding a miner's right be prevented from suing or being sued That anyone mining or holding mining interest- without being possessed of a ' miner's ri»ht. shall be subject to a penalty no*, exceeding L 10." In the Victorian Parliament, the other day, the Minister of Mines, in reply to a question, said that it was not the intention of the Government to place any sum on the Estimates for rewarding tho discoverers of ; new gold fields. The present system would meet the requirements of the case far better j than placing a lump sum on the Estimate,", The existing system was, that an official

board reported on all claims to the Govern- 1 ment, and any recommendation made by the board was attended to by the Government, who caused a sum of money to be placed on ' tho Estimates. The disgusting horrors of the Lock-up at the Ahaura are continually forcing themselves on the attention of the public. It is composed of two compartments, each intended to hold two occupants, although they are totally inadequate for the purpose. One of these black holes was occupied by a female prisoner the greater portion of last week, and into the other five men were at one time crowded. Two of them were awaiting trial, and were, of course, perfectly sober, the rest were at intervals picked up in the gutters outside and thrust in head-foremost on the others. One of the latter is known to be a dangerous lunatic when under the influence drink, and anyone who was safely locked up " outside" can imagine the feelings of individuals with their senses about them being confined in such company. The police are not to blame, because it is their duty to preserve order, and they must do the best they can with the means at their disposal. It is easy enough to see the ultimate result of this state of things. When some terrible catastrophe occurs, such as the murder of all his fellow-prisoners by one of these maniacs, the Government will be moved by the instincts of common humauity, and begin to consider it necessary that " something should be done in the matter." The oily case heard at the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday was the Mayor and Corporation of the Borough of Greymouth against D. Maclean and Co., to recover LlB for wharfage rates on cattle, sheep, and horses landed at the lower end of Richmond Quay. It was admitted that the cattle were all landed at the point indicated, and that the defendant was liable for the clues, if any were payable. The whole question resolved itself into whether the place where the catcle were landed was a wharf, pier, quay or jetty, within the meaning of the Grey mouth Quays Act. Mr Perkins appeared for the Boroqgn Council, and Mr Newton fjr the defendants. Mr J. A. Whall, Town Clerk, proved the preliminaries, showing the authority of the Council to levy wharfage rates Mr Johnston, Town Smveyor, said he knew the place where the cattle were landed. It was a part of the town called Richmond Quay, and the cattle were landed there on the dates mentioned in the bill of particulars. The cattle were swung up from the ship's hold, dropped into the river, and they either swam or walked ashore. The bow-line of the vessel was made fast to the protective work in front of Richmond Quay. All the cattle were landed within the limits of the Borough. The same place had been used for the landing of cattle for twelve months, and was situated three chains below Arney street, between that and Chapman street. The defendant had previously paid once a month for all the cattle landed there. Cross-examined : And he giumbled every time he paid that there was no accommodation for the landing of the cattlo. There was no structure there to facilitate tho landing of cattle— nothing but the shelving river bank, and a slip pannel run acr< ss the road line to prevent the cattle goingup Richmond Quay. At other parts there were landing stages and I pens or yards to facilitate the landing of cattle. He aid not consider that the protective words at the point indicated could technically be called a wharf, as a wharf or quay must be a structure of some kind, with a frontage. W. M. Cooper, District Surveyor, produced the authentic map of the town, and pointed out the spot on Richmond Quay were the cattle were landed. He had known that place as Richmond Quay for over three years. Cross-examined : There was no wharf or quay constructed there. A wharf must be a structure or embankment on the side of a river, dock, or other sheet of water, at which vessels can lie and distharge. He would' not call a natural bank a wharf. Patrick Allardycc, harbor-master, said he knew the cattle were landed at the west end of the protective works. He called the place a beach or river bank. The cattle vessels went there to discharge by his instruction, that being, in his opinion, the most suitable place for the cattle to be landed. The cattle had to swim ashore. D. Maclean said that some of the cattle, pigs, or horses, upon which wharfage waa charged were landed otherwise than at the lower end of the town. Cross-examined :He had made a great many complaints that no accommodation was provided for the landing of cattle. Tn consequence of this, each shipment cost an extra L 3 or LA for men and horses to do the duty which a yard or pen ought to do. On each visit the tonnage dues were paid on the vessel, but he objected to I pay wharfage clues because the cattle were not landed on the wharf, because no accommodation was provided, and because extra expense was incurred by the agent on every visit of a steamer. Mr Newton moved for a nonsuit, on the ground that the evidence did not establish the right of the plaintiffs to recover wharfage dues from the defendants. He argued that the Borough Council were only wharfingers, under the powers given them to levy wharfage rates, and they had no right to the soil. A long argument derails of which we will publish to-morrow, ensued, Mr Perkins replying at length, when the Magistrate reserved his decision until the i sth iust. I The following, from au English paper, ' shews that the small waste coal from colle- j ries need nob be wasted : — " Millions of tons of small coals are wasted annually in and out our colleries. For some time Mr Crampton has had a furnace in action in Woolwich, and another at the Bowling Iron-works, in Yorkshire, in which powder coal is only used. This powder coal is blown into the furnace with exactly the quantity of air which is required to effect the comjlete combustion of the coal. The effect is surprising- -a mass of flame of the highest temperature fills the furnace and does it work, and no smoke whatever is seen to issue from the chimney. Thus, the utilisation of all small coal is promised, great economy is expected, and the absence of smoke is fully secured." The Mining Conference at Dunedin has recommended that auriferous lands should be reserved for mining purposes, which shall be exempt from sale and from leasing under the agricultural leasing regulations, and that no reserve shall be cancelled unless three months' notice shall have been given in the Provincial Gazette and local newspapers ; and if there shall be no such paper, then in the chief Dunedin paper. And no such cancellation shall take phue without the consent of the Superintendent aud Executive. At a meeting of the Mining Conference of Otago, on the 23rd May, the Chairman laid on the table the following copy of a telegram which he proposed to forward to the County Council of Westland, and which was agreed to :— " I am instructed by the Otago Mining Commission to request the favor of the cooperation of your Council and the miners of Westland, iv endeavoring to obtain the enactment of a new mining statute, more perfect and liberal in its provisions than the existing law, especially regarding the tenure of mining property, and the administration of justice on the gold fields. The Commission would gladly accept any suggestion by which unity and harmony of action in obtaining the object desired on the part of the various mining communities of the colony might be secured." A new " wrinkle" iv tramways has been introduced by Mr Haddeu, C. IS., for the purpose of traffic across some of the interior regions of Turkey. It is not without interest v i elation to communication iv this country.

It ia a single rail tramway, of which the following is a description : — " Imagine a bicycle let into a longitudinal aperture in the centre of the bottom of a cart, and the cart nearly touching the ground, so that only about six inches of the wheels would be visible ; next, a kind of balancing pole run through the sides of the cart at right angles to the single rail on which the bicycle is to run. The two ends of the pole are to project about three feet on either side of the cart, and rest upon, and be harnessed to, the backs of two mules. The animals will thus be one at each side of the load, instead of being in front in the ordinary way. It would be impossible for the cart to turn over, because, in order to do so, it would have to force one mule to the ground and to lift the other into the air ; and, moreover, as its floor would only be six inches above the rail, an overtip would be of no account. AH the weight in the cart, if evenly distributed, would bear upon the rail, and the animals, having no load on the backs, would be able to exert considerable traction power." Mr Haddan does not consider that the utility of his invention will be limited by the precise conditions that first called for it. He not only suggests ifcs employment for military purposes, but also for tramwajs iv large cities ; and he says that, where space is very valuable, a horse or mule on only one side of the cart would be sufficient. In towns, on bridges and other itnportaut j places, the rail might for a short distance be dispensed with ; and passenger vehicles should be fitted with small friction wheels on either side, so that, if a horse should fall down, the balance of the carriage should remain undisturbed. We are not aware whether there is any near prospect of the idea being realised, even in Turkey ; but it seems sufficiently ingenious to deserve at least publicity. One of the dredges on the Shotover River has obtained lOOoz of gold since the Easter holidays. Two hundred Chinese are reported to have settled down to work at the Serpentine, Otago. The spot they have selected is a gully, which, when winter has fairly set in, will have several feet of snow in it. We learn from the Wakatip Mail that some very good returns 'are being obtained from claims on branch streams near the head of the Shotover River. The Otago Gold Fields Conference has agreed to the following additional recommendations :— "The advisability of removing the Gold Fields Wardens from one district to another, at least once in every three years. That transfers and sales of mining properties should be exempt from the operation of the Stamp Acts. The Commission strongly urges an amendment of the law giving effect to this recommendation ; failing which, that a uniform duty of one Shilling should be fixed on all transfers of mining interests. That the Wardens of this Province should be required to hold frequent sittings of Wardens' Courts in outlying districts, and where required should fix, at least once in three months, the days on which such Courts shall be held, and shall thereupon report the same to the Superintendent and the Executive Government, who shall thereupon publish such fixtures in the Provincial Government Gazette aud local newspapers, and the Warden shall, in the event of such Court not being holden as appointed, report the reason to the Executive Government. A "commodious hotel" has been erected !>,t that place of evil omen, Nukumaru. Tito Kawaru will have something to loot when he makes his next raid.