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Grey River Argus, Volume XI, Issue 971, 6 September 1871, Page 2

At the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday, before W. H. Revell, Esq., R.M., and R. C. Reid, E. Masters, and E. Wickes, Esq., J.P., publicans licenses-were granted to Messrs Tonks and Hughes, Albion Hotel ; Mrs Burchell, Hibernian Hotel; aud Mr Polling, Retreat Hotel. The returning officers for the Middle and West Wards yesterday declared Messrs Wickes and Coates to be duly elected Councillors for those Wards, there being no opposition. For the East Ward, Messrs A.: R. Guinness and i?.. S. Smith were nominated, and a poll is appointed to take place at the Volunteer Hall, en the 14th hist., between the hours of eight and four. • Greymouth was visited by a slight snowstorm .yesterday —the first for several years; It will be seen by our advertising columns that Mr H. J. Price, photographer, has arrived, nnd taken the premises lately occupied by Mr Tait. We are happy to inform our readers that the s.B. Kennedy, respecting the safety of which rumors were current in town yesterday and the day previous, arrived safely in Nelson, and sailed for the West Coast-yes-terday at noon. The gas waslit up at several of the principal business places in town yesterday for the first time, but owing to the quantity of air in the pipes had to be extinguished. This is now being rectified. An epidemic of a very serious nature appears to be now prevailing among children on the Otago diggings. The Arrow Advocate says :— " We have to record the melancholy loss of two of Mr Hyam's children, at Macetown. They seem to have been seized with some kind of epidemic, which carried them off after an illness of only a few hours. Last week one of Mr Groad's children also appears to have fallen a victim to the prevailing disorder. Every care should be taken by parents to see that their children are not exposed to the severity of the weather, which Of late has been so very changeable— more pai-ticularly now that we have but too much proof that a sickness of so fatal a nature exists in the district." The following gentlemen have been nominated as candidates to fill the three vacant seats in the Hokitika Borough Council, 'the election for which will take place on the 14th inst. :— Messrs S. W. Alcorn, G. F. Hawkins, John Hudson, W. H. Ingram, M 'Lean Watt Jack, J. T. Love and James Turner. ■ '■ We have received the following strange epistle regarding some notorious affair which happened lately, but as we know nothing about it, we publish the document verbatim : --•"A rather curious case has occurred in this neighbourhood lately showing at once the amount of barbarity that oxists on the West Coast. The perpetrators of this outrage move in a respectable position in society as brother and Sister their victim being a harmless quiet fellow, who has been led on by the woman, and abused by them both, till it has come to an application of tar and feathers. Single men beware." A new gas company has been formed in. Welliueton, to compel the existing company to reduce the price to 10s per 1000. . The sun at present is well worthy of observation when seen through a moderately good telescope. Three large and several smaller groups of spots may be seen on the eastern limb. One of these spots, near the equator, is very dark, while to the north of it is one whose shape is not unlike a flat dish. To the eastward of this, again, there is a group of five, and continuing to the south, there is a line of small spots, ending in one large one. The whole phenomenon is very interesting. The planet is now at its brightest, and may be seen any clear af fceruoonwith the naked eye from aoout three ]f.m. ■ -:--■.■■ .•■••■■■ •• ' ■ The following civil cases were disposed of at the Resident' Magistrate's Court yesterday, before W. H. Revell. Esq., R.M^:M 1 Williams v. Moore : Claim for L 3 3s lid, for goods supplied. There being no appearance of defendant Judgment wept by default. — Liquidators of the Grey Valley Tramway.Co. v. M'Dowell.— A summons to recover L 7 10s, being the amount of a call of 7s Gd on 20 shares in the Grey Valley Tramway Co. Mr Guinness appeared on behalf of Messrs Orr and Wylde, the liquidators, and Mr Newton for the defendant." This; was t one of the cases arising out of the defunct tramway company. From the statement of Mr Wylde it appeared that defendant applied to him to take up in the first instance teu shares, and afterwards twenty. About two. months after his name was placed on the register of shareholders defendant applied by letter to have hip name withdrawn, hut this was not done. On the 20th June it was resolved to wind-up the company, and a resolution was paspi authorising a call of 7s 6d per share, which was afterwards confirmed at an extraordinary general meeting. The register wasiiot attested, aud none of the shareholders whoso uame3 were mentioned on the back of the memorandum produced were present, personally, at the ' winding-up meeting. Mr Newton applied for

a nonsuit on the ground that' had been already several times raised in the Court, namely, that the defendant's signature was not sufficiently attested within the meaning of the,. Act, and that he was not a shareholder, as he had t«e6t>ived no benefit, or had not signed tbedeed of registration in nccordance with the form prescribed by the company. The Magistrate taking this view of the case nonsuited the plaintiffs. — Wright v. Ferguson : Claim for LlO 8s Gdfor provisions, money lent, &c. The plaintiff and defendant had been mates in a claim which turned out a "duffer," and the action was brought to recover defendant's' share in the co-partner-ship transaction. The defendant, who was represented by Mr Perkins, admitted the debt, but stated that he was never asked for the money till plaintiff placed the summons in his hand, but previous to that, before ho mentioned anything about the money, he had paid him L 4. There was an. agreement between them when they broke up the party that defendant was to pay Mr Magoffin's bill, and that plaintiff would not ask him for his money till that was done. In consequence of not striking gold till three weets since he had not been able to pay the bill. Plaintiff admitted the truth of defendant's statement, and the Court srave judgment for L 6 8s 6d, the plaintiff to pay the costs. The following letter has been received from a digger at the Gnle;otig Rush, ana published in the West Coast Times: — " Gulgong, July 24, IS7O. Dear Brother— This is the' largest rush I've ever been on, as far as population and extent. It is scattered over an enormous space of ground, so that 'tis hard to form an estimate of the numbers. There are a good number on gold, and a good many shepherding, among whom lam one. The sinking is deep, so that it will take a lon.n time to thoroughly test it. but my own opinion is it will be a permanent diggings ; still, I don't feel justified in advising anyone to come here. I am jnst as far forward as some that were here six months, and it takes a man to be pretty well off in pocket to stand the racket. Patrick Hayes." In an article recommending the abolition of the Native Office, the Auckland Morning News says :— " We have no right to take offence because the Maoris choose to say that they prefer keeping as much as possible to themselves, and enjoying their own congenial pursuits apart from the prying supervision, of fussy Europeans. Why should the colony pay an army of officials to persuade the King and his followers to admit, on a footing of friendship, a host 6f -Europeans whom they, detest ? In like manner, why all the fuss made over TeHira and Mere Kuru for the past two or three years surpasses ordinary comprehension. Itwould be a good thing, no doubt, for the colony to have a gold , raining population located in the Upper Thames district, but it would als j be a good thing for the natives ; and when they begin to see that themselves the country ■will be opened, but not a day sooner. In precisely a similar way, we should derive a great benefit as a community from having free access to the interior country under the King's authority, but it would be a much greater benefit to the Maoris themselves, and anything we may tell them will tfot bring us one step nearer our object until the natives are fully convinced in tbeir own minds that they "would have a clear gain by throwing the country open to "us. When that conclusion has been arrived at, the King and his party will be: reasonable. Until then the JNative Office must labor in vain, besides preventing s->ttler3 from exercising their legi» timate personal influence." Among the papers laid on the table of the House of .Representatives is a memorandum by Ministers oii the subject of convicts coming from the different penal settlements. Ministers suggest as a remedy to prevent convicts introducing themselves, on any free portion of the Empire, that the condition attached to the pardon of any convict sent to Western Australia should expressly require him to reside in the settlement, and that his Excellency Governor Weld should be instructed that in future he is not to permit any conditionally pardoned convict to leave the poual settlement there. It would also strengthen the defence of free colonies, if, by an Act of the Imperial Parliament, they could return stray convicts and charge the pennl settlement with the expense. The Gaveranient had been informed that several hundred pounds have been subscribed by sympathisers with the Fenian prisoners, and hai.ded to them. Government cannot help thinking an injury is inflicted on the Colony by such sympathies being evoked by the presence of such political offenders. To this is appended a report of t'e action taken by the Government in reshipping Ihem to whence they came, or rather to Sydney, a course they express themselves averse to, as they would bave'jpref erred sending them to Western Australia. Mr Gisborne adds, that " in addition to the resentment which muat naturally arise in a Colony turned against its will into what would practically be a convict Alsatia, with all the evija of congregated crime, and without the restraints necessarily imposed on it in a regular convict station, there are special circumstances affecting the Maori race in the country which would render such a course exceptionally disastrous."