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Grey River Argus, Volume XI, Issue 1022, 4 November 1871, Page 2

It was expected that the debate on the second reading of the Annexation Bill would take place yesterday afternoon. At nine o clock last night we received telegrams from Wellington, but they contained no mention of the Bill, which leads us to infer that it has not yet been reached. A cricket match will be played on the Camp Reserve to-day, commencing at 1.30 g.m. sharp, between eleven chosen from the rrey River Cricket Club and twenty-two of the Volunteer Fire Brigade. The Club's eleven will be selected from the following gentlemen : — Messrs Strike, Guinness, Twohill, Cresswell, Duna, Woods, Chuck, Cochrane, Elliott-, Buckingham, Kent, Hawley, and Kenrick. The Brigade's men will be chosen from the following :— Messrs Walton, Hardwick, Murray, J. Browne, M. Browne, Coates, Schlichting, Eissenliardt, Franklin, Poole, G. Taylor, Simpson, Harrison, May, Adams, Gleeson, F. Gleeson, Purcell, Jones, Robinson, Greenwood, Wilson, M'Gregor, Dupre, and Abrahams. The result of a police investigation which has been going on for some time in Christchurch, is that Mr Shearman, the Commissioner, and his clerk have been temporarily suspended from duty. The Auckland Society expects another shipment of birds shortly, by the ship City of Auckland. The shipment includes 60 robins, 70 yellowhammers, 20 brace of partridges, and some hedge-sparrows. Last year L 38.682 worth of furniture was imported into the Colony. This, too, when there is no finer material to work up in the world than in New Zealand. - . A Sandhurst broker received a commission from Melbourne to buy stocks to the amount of L 20.985, the largest transaction in a single line ever done on Sandhurst. Two years ago the whole lot could have been bought for less than LSOO. At the Resident Magistrate's Court, yesterday, before W. H. Revell, Esc[., K.M., a Mrs Raymond was charged with using abusive language to John Coppersmith and his wife. It appears that plaintiff was at home last Wednesday, when defendant, who was a next door neighbor, commenced abusing Mm without provocation. She was' drunk at the time. The defendant said she was not abusing either the plaintiff or his wife, but a man named Antoni. His Worship told the defendant that she was liable, under the Vagrant Act, to a penalty of LlO or in default three months' imprisonment. He would, however, fine her L 2 or in default 14 days' imprisonment. Defendant pleaded that she was destitute, and had four small children depending on her^ for suuport. Under chose circumstances his Worship reduced the imprisonment to one week. — Margaret Williams was summoned at the instance of Ann Hogan for assault. A medical certificate from Dr Smith was put in, stating that defendant was unable to appear. Mr Guinness, who appeared for plaintiff, stated that he bad jftst been informed by Or I Acheson that there was nothing to prevent defendant appearing. , DrAcheson was then sworn, and stated that the defendant ha<l applied to him that morning for a medical certificate. She had a black eye, and stated that she was suffering from pains in the back caused by a kick. He had examined her and could find nothing the matter with her back, , and therefore would not give her a certificate. ' She went to another medical man afterwards.

The plaintiff stated that she was walking along the street, on Tuesday forenoon, carryiDg a baby in her arms and another one by her side, when defendant without any provocation came and struck her on the side of the head. Plaintiff had a witness named Wagstaff, but she had not subpoenaed her, as she was not certain whether the case would come on. His Worship, without waiting for further evidenoe,, 'fined defendant, who was not present, LI and costs. Intelligence has; reached Christchuroh of the discovery of- a seam of coal at Ashley Gorge, on one.pf the branches of the Ashley Hirer. Specimens of this coal has been brought to Christchurch, and it is said to be of good quality. ''"* The following tenders for the construction of the junction. i road between the Christchurch and the Greenstone roads, have been recommended for acceptance :— Section 1, Whittaker, L 750; section 2,. Price, L 702; section 3, Treacey, L 1168; section 4, Treacey, LlOl9 ss. An Auckland paper estimates that there are about 4000 bona fide miners on the Thames Gold Fields, and that these support a further population of from 8000 to 9000. The Bowen Extended Claim, at Redman's, Ross, ha& been sold under the Warden's decree for L 690. The salting down of butter for exportation is now proceeding very vigorously, and in one large cooperage in Christchurch the men are working <almpßjb night and day, yet they have been unable to supply thY number of butter casks ordered. . The Stafford" Prospecting Gold Mining Co. are about to re-commence operations. The company are now registered under "The Mining Companies Limited Liability Act, 1865," with a capital of LBOO, in 1600 shares. It is said that more than -half the capital is already subscribed. ■ The General Government Gazette gives the following as the boundaries of the recently declared infected district, and from which place cattle cannot be imported into Canterbury :— All that portion of the Middle Island of New Zealand -lying to the north of the Hurunui River, and of a straight line from the source of that river to the County of Westland. A very handsome window has recently been fixed in All Saints' Church, Nelson, the gift of the Bishop and Mrs Suter and some fellow-passengers from England. The cost of the window in England was L2B, and that and all the charges of freight, &c, have been defrayed by his Lordship and friends. The subject is "The Ascension." A serious!' accident happened to Mr M 'Donald, Canterbury Government Surveyor, on Saturday evening last. He was riding down the, Riccarton road, when his horse became "restive and threw him three times.. In the last fall, Mr M. 'Donald sustained some very severe injuries to the head. He was conveyed' to the residence of Mr PercivalPearce ("The Hollies"), and was immediately attended to by Dr Prins. The wounds sustained by Mr M'Don*ld are of a graver character than was at first anticipated, and it is feared he willloße the sight of his left eye. A man lost his life in the Rakaia River the other day. In connection with this affair the conduct of Mr Wm. Brown, waggoner to Mr D. Middleton, cannot be too highly commended. It seems that he had crossed the river just previously to the accident. Alarmed on hearing cries of distress, and seeing the dangerous position of the unfortunate man, he immediately unharnessed a horse, and riding bare-backed into the river, succeeded in seizing him by the coat, but owing to the restiveness of his own horse, was forced to let go. Dismounting in the water, he followed the floating body^and again seizins it by the waist, drew it-iuto shallow water, but unfortunately too late, as life proved to be extinct. The Wagga Wagga Advertiser mentions that "Mr Purcell, of the English bar, junior counsel for the defendants in the Tichborne case, arrived in Wagga Wagga on Tuesday, for the purpose of collecting additional evidence with especial reference to the man Cresswell, said to be identical with Arthur Or ton. Cresswell is now a hopeless lunatic in the Gladesville Asylum, and Mr Purcell has a photograph of him, which will form an attractive addition to the collection of portraits already .exhibited in the case. We understand that Mr Cox, the holder of Castro's pocketbook, has made arrangements with Mr Purcell to go to England by the next mail. Large offers were made by both sides for the possession of the pocketbook, but Mr Cox * didn't see it,' preferring to turn his lucky find tto the better account of a cheap trip to the old country." The following is from the Timaru and Gladstone Gazette:— At the Rangatira Bridge works, the fifth pair of cylinders was, expected to hav.e.,jbeen sunk on Saturday evening laßt, and wut.be concreted by to-morrow night. Two Spans of girders have been finished, and the woodwork on the top is being followed up. The men are now busy erecting the third span of girders, which, it is expected, will be finished in about ben days. It is to be hoped that all difficulty in connection with the work is now over, it having gone across the main Btream. The freshes, during the past fortnight or so, have not in any degree injured the staging, &c. The men are working on a spit, across which they have to erect about six spans, and the stream yet to cross is nothing like the other they have, so far, successfully succeeded in going over. It is expected that the girders across the. main stream will be erected in about three weeks. From a Wellington contemporary we learn that Messrs Greville and Co. have just developed a new use of electricity, so far, at least, as that town is concerned. It is, of course, important (says our contemporary) for them that they should receive their messages with as Uttle delay as possible, yet it often happens that a message remains in the Telegraph Office half an hour or more after ! receipt, owing to there being no messenger available to deliver it. To obviate this delay, Messrs Greville and Co. have had a wire carried into their office, and an electric bell attached to it, so that the receiving clerk in the Telegraph Office is able to give immediate intimation of the arrival of any message for Greville and Co., who then send one of their boys for it. Attached to the bell is an ingenious apparatus which registers the fact of the bell having been sounded, so that if no one hears the bell, a glance at the index shows that a message is waiting. The whole apparatus has been fitted up by Mr Smith, the mechanician of the Telegraph Department, and is at once simple, economical, and effective. The sporting correspondent of the Lyttelton Times writes as follows regarding the forthcoming race for the Canterbury Cup : — "Would that I had ,lo or 15 horses in it to .write about instead of only the miserable lot of three. And why are the entries so few ? It cannot be because the money is so little. It has been tried first of all with LIOOO added, and then the starters never, ercept . the first year, exceeded five or six ; then ib was reduced to LSOO, and these last two or thre.j } ears to L3OO, and the distance has been reduced from 3 to 2£ miles in the hope that more would enter, but without effect. My own impression is, that instead of making this race a weight for age race, the committee ought to make it a handicap, with a sweep of L2O i) L son nomination, L 5 on acceptance, the 'remaining LlO at the post.

A good entry would result from it, and we very likely should have ten or fifteen come to the post (especially if the handicap, was well made) instead of only three—Knottingley, PeereßS, Flying Fish— the sole competitors for the great race of New Zealand. And of this lot the old horse Knottingley stands decidedly the favorite, and this year will have the assistance of the Flying Fish to make the running for him, so that he may be able to shake off the Peeress, and not let the Cup this year slip from him if all his owner and trainer can do can help it : but in spite of all these things, I am a moflt decided admirer of the old mare, and shall, from my present observations, expect her to be the winner.