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Grey River Argus, Volume XI, Issue 917, 5 July 1871, Page 2

We recently mentioned the large waterrace which is being brought from Lake Ahaura, by way of Bell Hill, to No Town or Nelson Creek. Since then two meetings of the promoters of the scheme have been held in Hokitika, when it was resolved to form a limited liability company, consisting of 120 shares, but reserving 40 shares for disposal among the residents in Greymouth. We learn that Mr M. Roache, storekeeper at Lake Brunner, has been deputed to wait upon the principal merchants in town to give them an opportunity of taking an interest in this undertaking, and that he will do so to-day. We notice that Sergeant Moller has been appointed Inspector of Weights nun Measures for the district lying between the southern boundary of the Province of Nelson and the north bank- of the Teremakau River, including the town of Greymouth ; Sergeant White for Hokitika, and the district between the Teremakau and Hokitika Rivers ; and James M'Enuis for the southern portion of the County, from Hokitika River to the boundary line. These appointments have been gazetted. The fourth of July passed off in a very damp and unintrusive manner, owing to the very heavy downfall of rain, until the evening, when our conspicuous American citizen, Mr Maxwell, of tho Cosmopolitan Hotel, thrust himself before the citizens in a very conspicuous manner, by a grand pyrotechnic display on the wharf in front of his house. The fireworks were first-class, and attracted a large crowd of sightseers. Mr Maxwell had invited as his guests for the evening the members of the Fire Brigade and the Town Band, and these bodies marched from the Fire Brigade Hall at 10 p.m. to the Hotel, where they were entertained to a sumptuous repast, and toasis appropriate to the occasion were freely, honored. On Sunday last a distribution of piizes took place in the Sunday School connected with Trinity Church, Greymouth, upon which occasion a very kind and appropriate address to the children was given by the Rev. Mr Watkins. No less than seventy children were present, all belonging to the school. The marked attention and superior intelligence evinced by the scholars reflected great credit upon the teachers, more especially when it is borne in mind that the school has only been started six months. We understand it is the intention of the teachers, with the kind aid of their pastor, to obtain a small harmonium for the use of the school. Mr Cresswell was appointed Superintendent. The annual installation of the Worshipful Master and officers of the Greymouth Masonic Lodge, took place last evening, at the Lodge-room, Gilmer's-buildings, when a large number of the brethren were present. Bro. Lazar, District Grand Master for Westland, notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, and tho flooded state of the creeks and rivers, atteuded to conduct the ceremony of installing the Worshipful Master, which he performed in a solemn and impressive manner, after which he invested the officers, addressing them severally with suitable and appropriate remarks. He paid a high compliment to Bro. Moss for his zeal and assiduity during his term of office as Master of the Greymouth Lodge. A unanimous [vote of thanks was recorded to the District Grand Master for his attendance on the occasion. The following are the names of the officers for the ensuing year : — Bro. J. J. Blackmore, W.M. ; Bro. W. S. Smith, S.W. ; Bro. James Kerr, J.W. j Rev. Bro. G. T. N, Watkins, chaplain ; Bro. W. Hill, treasurer ; Bro. J. E. Hawley, secretary ; Bro. R. J. Johnston, S..D. ; Bro. Kemp, J.D. ; Bro. J. B. Roche, I.G. ; Bros. Whitmore and Eisenhardt, stewards. Later in the evening the brethren sat down to a splendid banquet, served up in Bro. Gilmer's best style, and which was done justice to by all present. The usual Masonic toasts were given and responded to, and after spending a happy and pleasant evening the brethren dispersed. The sum of L 23 15s has been collected in Hokitika for the political prisoners who recently left Lyttelton for Neiv South Wales. The amount has been forwarded to the Melbourne Central Committee. An alpine lake, hitherto unknown, has been discovered by some explorers in the Upper Shotoyer, Otago. One of the explorers, aftei describing the difficulties of the country throuj^i which they passed, says : — "Here we were rewarded with the first glimpse of a deep blue lake, completely filliug the hollow in the mountains. This lake, which I have named Lochnagar, seems to be about three miles in length, and one • rape and a quarter in width, and with its picturesque surroundings of jagged peaks, clad to the water's edge with snow, forms a scene sublime, but desolate in the extreme. The creek which flows in at the head, emerges from a field of snow and ice, and falls over a precipice to the level of the lake, the prospect at the upper end of the valley being bounded by a fine peak, which I have named Mount Cunningham. Ai the date of our visit it was impossible to penetrate further without the aid of a boat, the shores of the lake being apparently inaccessible towards the head. At the point where the surplus water makes the exit from the lake, there have been immense slips on the mountains, and the falls on the creek must be well worthy of a visit, as it makes a descent of at least five hundred feet [in & mile." i As reported by telegram, John Flood, Thomas Francis, 0. M. Baines, Thomas Fennell, Johu Edward Kftlly, and John O'Neil Golding, the Irish Political Prisoners for whom over L4OO has been subscribed on the West Coaat, left Lyttelton last week in the barque Queen of the South, for New- i castle, N.S.W. They were accompanied to Lyttleton by a large circle of their conntrymen, some of whom procseded in the barque for some distance outside the Heads, returning by the s.s. Gazelle, which towed the Queen of the South out of harbor, Before leaving, according to the report in the Lyttelton Times,, Mr Flood, speaking on behalf of his confreres and himself, referred shortly to the peculiar circumstances under which they had landed in New Zealand, and expressed his hearty thanks for the sympathy which had been expressed towards them, not only by Irishmen, but by people of all nationalities, in Canterbury. For his countrymen hero, he could only say that in hospitality, generosity, and patriotic spirit,

they Avere in every sense worthy of the land of their birth, and so also were their com patriots on the West Coast. In leaving Canterbury, he could not give sufficient expression by words to the dictates of his heart ; he felt more than he could give expression to, but he could assure them that he should ever think with grateful remembrance of his countrymen in Canterbury, and those of other countries with whom he had come in contact during his sojourn in Christchurch. The health of the five was then proposed, aud drunk with due honors ; and after toasting the health of Captain Adair, aud wishing him and his passengers bon voyage, the company left the vessel, giving repeated cheers, which were as feelingly responded to by those on board the barque. Thu political offenders paid Ll5O for their passage to Newcastle— Lloo cash, and the remainder to the captain on arrival at that port. The four released convicts from j Western Australia— W. Goff, Edward Halliwell, W. Collier, and C. Barton — were allowed to leave for Newcastle per the Queen of the South. It will be recollected that these men were ordered by Dr Donald to be deported to the colony from whence they came ; but since their sentence, several communications have passed between Mr C. W. Turner, the Provincial Government, and the General Government, and the result is that the men, instead of being taken to Western Australia in the schooner Canterbury, as at first intended, were permitted to leave for New South Wales. In the Resident Magistrate's Court, yesterday, the following civil cases were disposed of :— Judgments by default— E. Ancher v. A. Fogie, L 7 15s ; Schlicthing Brothers v. P. Waller, No Town, L92s Gd ; Trustee in the estate of D. O'Connell Wormall v. Pvne, LlO 9s 7d ; same v. F. M'Kay, LI 6s 6d ; samev, Speak, Filltell, and Co, L 2 6slld; same v. Sherlock, L 3 4s, judgment for L 2 4s; same v.Farrell, L 3 19s 6d; same v. Lahey and Stapleton, L 5 8s 2d, judgment against Stapleton ; same v. Dorah, 14s 6d ; same v. Bourke, LI ; same v. O'Brien, L 5 lls 4d ; same v. Reyser, LlO Is 5d ; same v. J. Barren, L 4 8s 2d, judgment confessed ; same v. Sandy Forbes, LlO 15s Id, judgment confessed ; same v. Rouhan, L 33 13s 4d, judgment confessed j same v. Eeenau and Co, L 37 17s 4d, judgment by default j same v. Miller and Co, L2l 3s Id, judgment by default; Brown v. Crawford, fraud summons for L 2 0s 6d, one-half to be paid in fourteen days, balance in one monh ; Syms v. R. Crogan, L 2 Is 6d, judgment for the plaintiff ; Grey Valley Tramway Company v. J. D. Pinkerton. In this case Mr Newton applied for the costs of an application for a re -hearing, which had been obtained and afterwards withdrawn by the plaintiffs. The application was granted. Under the heading of "Telegram Puz zles," the Lyttelton Times makes the following remarks, which we heartily endorse — "The telegraphic summaries supplied to the New Zealaucl newspapers by Greville's Telegram Company are not an improvement upon those they used to get from the Government. In several respects they are a great deal worse. Take the last Suez mail summary as an example, and it must be admitted that matters could not well be worse managed. A word or two of commercial, little or no shipping, and hardly any news. The San Francisco mail summaries have generally been nearly, if not quite as bad, but the intercolonial summaries are, perhaps, worst of all. We can only describe them as a series of puzzles, the solution of which takes a great deal of time, a large amount of ingenuity, and occasionally not a little imagination." The accident by which a man named Geo. Clark was recently killed in the streets of Dunedin is thus described in the local paper :— He was crossing Princes-street with a friend from the Metropolitan to the South Australian Hotel. The person with him saw two cabs abreast coming at a quick pace towards them, and being driven towards the Octagon. He jumped jm the footpath, and on looking round saw the deceased lying on the road, and the cabs pulled up. He considers that no blame can be attached to either cabman, as both called out to deceased, and endeavored to pull up as quickly as possible. Another eye-witness considers that no blame is attached to the drivers, as they were goiig at no more than a reasonable pace, and that the spot where the accident occurred being in comparative darkness the cabs would come on deceased suddenly before the drivers had time to pull up. The deceased was sober at the time of the accident. He remained speechless from the time he was knocked down and died at about eight p.m. The only external injuries upon him were a severe cut upon the chin, and one or two slight cuts upon the face. jHe leaves a widow and six children." The Cromwell Argus (Otago) says:— "lt is our painful duty to record the death by drowning, early on Sunday morning, of Mr George Goss, mining manager for the Star of the East Company, Carrick Range. Mr Goss came to Cromwell an Saturday evening in order to attend a meeting of the shareholders. In company with Mr Alexander M'Nab, he left the Cromwell Hotel to go home between 11.30 and 12 p.m. They first made for Stuart's punt, in order to cross the Kawarau River ; but finding that Mr Stuart was in bed, they proceeded to Richards's punt. Mr M'Nab went up to the ferryman's house, while Mr Goss went on down to the ferry. Mr M'Nab quickly followed him, but was only in time to see his companion [ suddenly disappear from the punt into the river. Not a sound was heard — not a cry wasutterred. Solemnly, silently, suddenly, our friend of but a few days since was accidentally hurried into the "unseen." The following alteration has been made iv the regulations regai'ding the posting of letters : — " Clause 31— If a letter be posted wholly unpaid, the letter must be detained and dealt with according to the rule 153. If a letter addressed to any place within the Colony be not sufficiently prepaid with postage stamps of the value of one penny the letter must be forwarded charged with double the amount of tho deficient postage. If a letter liable to more than one rate of post" age, and addressed to any place in the United Kingdom, the Colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia, be prepaid with one rate at least, the letter must be forwarded charged with the deficiency and an amount equal to one rate as a fine ; but a letter addressed to any other Colony or Foreign Country, if not fully prepaid, must be detained and dealt with according to rule 152. Referring to the recent absurd report about an American filibustering expedition to Austialasia, the San Francisco Neios of the World, received by the mail, says :--"The I good people of Australasia, with whom we are just now endeavoring to cultivate the j most friendly relations, have recently had a ; scare about us, and are just now watching our approach to their harbors over fortifications bristling with cannon and bayonets. The cause of the scare was evidently a nice little piece of diplomacy on the part of the mother country, to show the people in the colonies that she was watchful and even suspicious lest some terrible calamity should befall them while they rested in fancied security. A telegram, founded upon a statement to the British Government, which, we are informed, they did not credit, but thought it right to make known to the colonies, announced to the Australasians that a filibustering expedition was to leave the United States in February last for Melbourne, Sydney, and Otago. Upon the receipt of

this intelligence, immediate and extensive preparations were entered into to strengthen fortifications and prepare for war, in which unsettled state we now find them. The press in the colonies says it does not credit the rumor, but that it is quite proper to be in readiness to receive the filibusters if they do come. In one journal there is an assertion that there is a Secret Ship-building Association in California for the fitting out of these expeditions. Neighbors, this is false ; and now we promise you that no such doings shall be allowed to go on here, provided you will not shoot us when we go to see you." The Wanganui Herald says — Mr George small has brought some relics to our office, consisting of a rocket, a canister and shot, and a piece of iron belonging to grape shot, which he unearthed a few days since on his father's farm. The rocket is slightly penetrated with rust, which is not surprisiug, considering that it is about twenty years since it was fired. The artillery used to fire in those days for fun as much as anything else, for it is understood that the best practice failed to inflict any loss on the prudent native, who soon acquired the art of dodging and keeping out of the way of these large and dangerous missiles. A Christchurch paper says : — " People complain of 'hard times,' 'no business,' and ! •scarcity of cash.' These complaints are in marked contrast with the large number of new houses in course of erection in almost every quarter of the city and its outskirts. Go where one will, the builder and his fellow-tradesmen are at work, and houses of a certain class are said to be unusually difficult to obtain." The Canterbury Press says : — " The rumor current in Wellington that the Assembly will be further prorogued to August, further complicates a problem which was already sufficiently difficult to solve. It is notorious 1 that the revenue has greatly fallen below the Colonial Treasurer's estimate for the current financial year. The Ministry neglected the only means of relieving themselves from the difficulty by leaving the old deficiency bill, issued under the f üblic Revenues Act, undischarged. If they had done this they would have been able to use a deficiency bill or overdraft in aid of revenue to the extent of L 60,000. As matters stand, it is a mysteay whence they can be getting the means of carrying on the expenditure up to the end of the financial year. Still more, how they will do so for six weeks or two months longer, without a breach of the law being committad somewhere." In bis recent amusing lecture at Dunedin on " How we are Governed," Mr Haughton, after describing the preliminaries to the nomination, and giving some amusing imagi-j ! nary speeches of the rival candidates, went on to say that when the nomination day is over, the candidate's commence in earnest. He is obliged to address meetings each evening, and woo the sweet voices of the electors in every way conceivable. There might perhaps be two or three hotels in the township where an up-country election comes off, aud the one he does not put up at goes into open opposition, and spreads reports that he never pays his bills. " A friend of mine," said the lecturer, "met the difficulty very ingeniously at the general election in 1866. There were three hotels in the township ; so when he arrived in the evening, he carefully partook of three teas— one at each hotel--and next morning he had three breakfasts in the same way. But there were three stables ; and I know what you are going to say — you are going to ask me how he put his horse into the three stables ? But I'll- tell you how he got out of the difficulty— he turned his horse out on the commonage ! " — Great laughter.) Then the wretched candidate would be pestered by every worthless fellow in the district, touting for employment as electioneering agent, which meant taking the candidate's money to get drunk upon it, or selling him to the other side. There might be a great deal of the humorous about electioneering, but he could assure them it did not strike the candidate so at the time. A man, indeed, required peculiar qualities to go through without flinching, and he believed many excellently-qualified men decline public life rather than submit to the ordeal. The following is from a San Francisco paper : — Every steamer which arrives from Australia brings to our city a number of Englishmen, returning from that country to their native land, and the mistakes and little accidents which occur during their sojourn here are often very laughable and ridiculous. By the last steamer a certain scion of a noble family in England arrived and registered himself at the Occidental Hotel. Feeling a little dusty after his journey, he went into a barber's shop for the purpose of indulging in the luxury of a shave and shampoo. He hung his coat on the rack, and submitted himself to the tonsorial operations with perfect abandon. After the cleaning and brushing had been completed, he put himself inside his coat and felt for his pocket-book to pay the bill; but his portemonnaie was gone, aud although every receptacle about his person was examined, the missing book, which contained 1.500 in English bank-notes, and a sum in sovereigns, could not be found, and he was obliged to borrow seventy-five cents to pay the barber's bill. On the same evening, when another of our English travellers was about to retire, he put his coat outside the door in the hopes that it would be nicely brushed for him. Unfortunately, he left several hundred dollars in notes and coiu in the coat, aud in the morning, much to his dismay, he recovered that article of dress as dusty as ever, but minus the money. Straightway he went to the office j of the hotei, and said to the clerk, "Mr Clerk, I've been robbed ; I've been robbed, sir !" and he then detailed the facts of the j case. The clerk told him he ought to feel very glad that he got his coat back, and advised him not to put his money outside his bedroom door hereafter. The T>ime(\inJHvenbif/ Star, hitherto a stroug advocate of Provincialism, in a recent article shows symptoms of a change of opinion. It says :— "lt scenii very evident that so far as legislation is concerned, a conviction is gradually growing up. that it is passing from the sphere of the Provincial Council, and that in the development of the Colony unity of system must ultimately supersede the diversity of law resulting from division into Provinces. This has been the course indicated by the events of the last few years. When the Provincial loans were consolidated into sv Colonial loan the doom of Provineial- | ism was sealed. It was an acknowledgment 'of the advantage of unity ; and gradually, since that time, it has been proved that the Colony is regarded from without with greater favor than any section of it, however much | in advance of the rest in local and material development. It may not be very flattering to a Province like Otago that it commands hardly more respect on the Stook Exchange in London than Nelson or Marlborough or Wellington ; but stock-brokers at Home are not quite so well up in Colonial geography as we are, and very possibly have an idea that Otago is surrounded by a number of Hauhaup, who, at a signal from Te Kooti, would eat up the white men and women and burn their houses. What, therefore, the Province could not command, the General Government obtained without difficulty. Otago's best efforts could not procure the means for constructing the Clutha railway. The General Government obtained the money almost without an effort. "^