THE PUBLISHED DAILY. THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 1871.

Grey River Argus, Volume XI, Issue 942, 3 August 1871, Page 2

THE PUBLISHED DAILY. THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 1871.

Mr Salomon, the celebrated Dunedin jeweller, has returned to Greymouth from his trip up country, and will offer his magnificent stock of jewellery at very low prices, at the Albion Hotel, to-day. He will be only here a few days, as he leaves by the Wallabi for Wanganui. At the Resident Magistrate's Court^yesterday morning, Margaret Mason, alias King, was charged with the larceny of eight onepound notes, from the personof Henry Clancy. On the .application of the police, a remand was granted for one day. The West Coast Times makes preteutions to the position of a first-class journal, but it lacks the qualifications of such a position. It cannot even publish regularly a report of the proceedings of the County Council. It esterday, as on several previous occasions, it not only omits "our usual leader," — which is not of much consequence— but fails to report the transactions of the County Council, which are always a day late. Yesterday's Independent says :— "During the last few days petty robberies have been somewhat more numerous than usual. Those we have heard of are, first, a lady's cloak from the door of Mr Alcorn's drapery establishment ; secondly, a bundle of socks, the property of Mr Ingles; and lastly, an iion window bar, from the front of Mr Sheppard s chemist shop, where it had been carelessly left. We learn from the Westland Independent that at the last meeting of the Hokitika Hospital Committee the following letter, from the County Chairman's office, was read. It ran as follows, and was addressed to the President :— " Sir— A committee having been appointed by the County Council to inquire into the management of Hospitals iv Westland, I (the Chief Clerk) am directed by the County Chairman to ask if the members of the Hospital Committee will be good enough to confer with the above committee on the desirability of removing the Hospital from its present site to the Gaol reserve, Cemetery Hill." To-:lay, according to the Council Notice Paper, Mr Button is to move— "That a sufficient sum for the purchase of boring rods, four or five hundred feet ia length, for the use of the County, be placed upon the Estimates."— The Council will go into Committee for the further consideration of the Estimates. — The Chairman will move— " That the Council resolve itself into Committee to consider the advisability of setting apart reserves for immigration purposes contiguous or adjacent to lines of railway, and roads no^y_^6m?B^J^LqpJ^sJirufitijQn % ;' EHI Mj: Warclen > s an( i Resident Magisf, 1 die's Court at Goldsborough. Such committee to consist of Messrs Duogan, HOO3, Guinness, and the mover, to report in a week." The London Echo's New York correspondent telegraphs that 42 members of Congress were present at a grand Freemasons' banquet given to Earl de Grey and Ripon in that city. The Earl, in responding to the address of welcome, said that Englishmen would rejoice that the first step hod beeu taken towards effecting a closer union be tween American and English Freemasons. At the meeting of the Waste Lands' Board, held at the Land Office, Hokitika, on Tuesday, amongst other business, the application of Mr W. C. Roberts, to purchase 35 acres of rural land, at Clifton, was granted. Messrs Kilgour and Pcrotti applied, through Mr J. Roscow, for a lease of 30 acres of land. The application had been before the Board some time ago. When it was first made the land was open for lease and the applicants had had it surveyed and paid the costs, but the Board were disinclined to grant a lease, considering that the land should be thrown open for sale. The Board passed a formal resolution to that effect, and the application was refused. The Chief Commissioner brought under the notice of the Board the inconvenience arising from the present arrangement as to advertising the notifications of sales, &c. He did not think that the present arrangement gave sufficient publicity to those notices, and complaints to that effect had been frequently made. It did not seem to him to be a matter for the County Chairman to determine in what paper and how frequently notices of the Board should be advertised. That was a matter for thf> Board to decide upen. If any contract which the Chairman might enter into for advertising should happen to coincide with the requirements of the Board, then of course it might be made available, but not otherwise. Ihe object in inserting such advertisements was to secure publicity, and that object should be kept in view. Mr Hoos thought the better course would be for the Board to decide in each case as to where and how the advertisements should be inserted. The Chief Commissioner was inclined to coincide with that view, as in some cases it would be advisable to advertise in the Hokitika papers only, and in others in the local papers of the districts where the land referred to was situate. For the information of several correspondents, we publish the following brief summary of the Auckland Waste Lands' Act : - "By the present Land Act the richest and best-situated agricultural land can be obtained, to the extent of one square mile per adult, at 15s per acre, by free selection ; and the purchase-money is payable by in instalments, extending over ten years, without interest. Personal residence is not requisite, the residence of some representative for a few years and certain stipulated improvements being alone required. After two years the fee simple can be obtained by the payment of the balance of purchase-money ; while, by the payments^ being deferred for the ten years, without interest, the present actual value of the purchase-money is equivalent to but 8s 3d per acre, [f settlers on the other hand desire to enter on pastoral pursuits, they can select first-class pastora] land to the extent of 3360 acres per adult at 10s per acre, payable in ten annual instal. ments without interest; or, 7680 acres of second-class pastoral land at 5s per acre payable in like manner by ten annual instalments Any admixture of the three classes of land to proportionate amounts is also permitted. But the Homestead clauses of the Act are more liberal still. According to these any adult cau take up 80 acres of agricultural or 160 acres of pastoral land by free selection ; and, od condition of residence for three years, can obtain, the fee simple of

the lot by five annual payments of ninepence per acre for the former, and sixpence per acre for the latter. As an additional protection to the poorer class of settlers iv forming such homesteads for themselves, it is also enacted that such lands are not liable for any debt contracted up to the time of the issue of the grant." We learn from yesterday's West Coast Times that on Tuesday an accident of a serious nature occurred at Fiulay's Saw Mills. One of the men was adjusting the belt round the wheel, and by some mishap was caught and whirled round, breaking his collar-bone and receiving an injury to his thigh, which, in the opinion of the medical gentleman who was called into attendance, will necessitate the amputation of the limb. In the Otago Provincial Council, the other day, Mr Barton moved the following lesolusions:—"lst. That the Province of Otago protests against the further waste of its revenues in Maori wars in the North Island ; and this Council requests the co-operation of the other Middle Island Provinces, and especially of our powerful neighbor, Canterbury, to put a stop to it. 2ud. That the Provincial Government, as the representative of the Province, be instructed to enter into communication with the Governments of the other Middle Island Provinces, to devise with them the best meaus to carry out successfully the. above resolutions." Mr Haughton moved an amendment — " That tlic words 'in Maori wars' in the first resolution be omitted, and the words 'on the Maoris ' inserted in lieu thereof." After considerable further discussion, the words 'in Maori wars ' were struck out of the original motion. The question that the words 'on the Maoris ' be inserted after the word revenues in the motion, was lost on a division by 25 to 4. The original motion, with the words 'in Maori wars' omitted, was then carried on the voices. In a recent Auckland Provincial Government Gazette the statements of affairs of a number of gold mining companies are published. The Thames Evening Star has beeu at some pains to sfl carefully'through these, and finds that the total amount of dividends declared by these companies since their formation is L 459.173 4s. Commenting upon this the editor says :—" Nearly half a million of money thus put into circulation might, of itself, "be considered somewhat of a wonderful fact, but it should be remembered that these dividends do not include the large sums paid by such claims as the Shotover, Middle Star, Long Drive, and other claims, before their formation into companies, nor does it include the vast quantity of precious metal daily got out here and there by individual enterprise, and got out ia the same manner ever since. Considered in reference to these facts, therefore, the mere statement that a certain number of companies (fourteen altogether) have paid to their shareholders L 459 ,173 4s should make people consider, before they decry the prosperity and stability of the gold field." We take from the Southern Cross of the 13th ult. the following with reference to the rumored disappearance of defaulting sharebrokers from Auckland :— "There were numerous reports afloat in town yesterday to the effect that two well-known sharebrokers had suddenly betaken themselves to fresh fields and pastures new. Up to a late hour last night the police had not received official information that any defalcations had taken place, nor had any application been made for warrants to be issued. There appears, however, to have been an attempt made to defraud Mr Loggie, butcher, who is the holder of one share in the Caledonian, Upon applying for the last dividend, yesterday, Mr and stated that the signature, although very like his, was a forgery. The signature was witnessed by a sharebroker. who, upon inquiry, could not be found. The transfer was made in favor of a gentleman said to be in the employ of Messrs A. Clark and Son, who bought it from the sharebroker, who acted as attesting witness, Ib is stated in the Auckland papers that Kereopa, the murderer of the sainted Volkner, and the introducer of Hau-h&uism and canibalism into the Tauranga district, has been pardoned. To this the loyal chiefs naturally demur, feeling most acutely the fact that six of their chiefs were butchered, &c, in their presence, the heads of their victims being taken away as trophies of victory by this arch-savage, but which, on Opotiki being taken by our forces, were, at the personal instigation of Sir George Grey, demanded and restored to their friends at Te Matata, The Arawa chiefs, relatives to these victims, now declare, openly and fearlessly, that whenever or wherever they come across this fiend in human shape they will most assuredly take the law into their own hands, "without reference to judge or jury ; and who cau blame them ? The population of Edinburgh, according to the Census returns, is 201,143, being 33,022 more than in 1861. A Government Gazette is now published iv Levuka. It is adorned "with the monarchial heading of Cakobau Rex. News from New Caledonia, to June 21, states r — "The Government are causing the interior of the country to be more thoroughly examined and explored. The Moniteur, of the 14th of June, describes a visit to the Caves of Tchlabell, and to the auriferous slopes of Manghine. A letter from the Colonial Secretary, MrH. Trastour, dated the Bth June, complains (incidentally) that many of the new arrivals from Australia are addicted to drink. The streugth of the naval station at Koumea is to bs reduced by one-half-from 30,000 f. to 15,000 f. These reductions are made 'on account of the exigencies of the situation .' The proposal of the Governor to introduce municipal institutions into New Caledonia has been sanctioned by the home authorities." At Auckland recently, an hotelkeeperwas nearly killed by his dog. The Southern Cross gives the following account of the affair :— " About half-past ten o'clock last night there were two men iv the bar of the Mechanics' House of Call Hotel, talking moderately loud. The landlord, Mr M 'Arthur, has a very large savage bull-dog, usually kept on a chain,' and just at this time it had broken its chain, and come into the bar. Mr M' Arthur, knowing the dog's ferocious disposition, as it had lately severely torn one of his children, feared that it would make a rush upon his two customers, and he therefore caught the dog by the collar, when the brute turned upon him in a most savage manner. The dog is a large and powerful animal, and before assistance could be rendered, Mr M 'Arthur was cut and torn from the middle of his left thigh to the ankle. His right ankle, both his hands, and his right wrist and arm were fearfully mangled. Mrs M 'Arthur brought an axe, and one of the men struck the dog with it, and thereby got its hold released. The blood flowed copiously from Mr M 'Arthur's wounds, a large portion of the floor of the bar being well watered with human blood. The man is recovering." Under the heading of " The man who hung his wife," the Hobart Town Mercury tells the following story:— "Last week, as a whole barge-full of mourners at the late Dr Dawson's funeral were returning from Franklin to Iron Stone Creek, on their way homewards, the attention of one of the many Ho^ i bart Town visitors was called by a Huon passenger to a figure sitting with head bent, i

and thoughtfully, as it smoked a black pipe in the bows of the boat. ' That's the man who hanged his wife ; I wonder if he's thinking about her now,' remarked the speaker. •Hanged his wife, and not hanged himself?' jerked out the visitor. 'Yes, hanged his ■wife,' repeated the other, 'and the most curious part of it is that they live together still, and are the happiest pair in the whole district. It was ia this way : One night when Bullswool and his wife were returning homewards in their punto, the wife's bonnet, w hich carried a veil, ribbons, and feather in the highest style of fashions caught against one of the dead trees yonder, that overhans the river. It was pitch dark, and the poor girl, thinking that the fingers or fangs of a demon had fastened upon her, clapped both hands firndy over her head and around the dead limb. Bullswool puffed away at his pipe, and pulled on manfully, leavine his wife hanging by the arms in the moonlight in the scrub. He had passed many a glistening shade of the tea-tree on the bankside before he heard a ' Where are you, Jim ?' in accents sweet and clear. Out went the pipe, back water with the paddles, a splash like fury or a whale dying in the water, and in rather less than no time, Jim Bullswool's wife was tenderly dropped down into the punt again."