Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1045, 1 December 1871, Page 2

The s.f. Rangitoto, with the Suez mail on board, arrived in the Hokitika roadstead last evening, and was tendered at midnight, but the as. Waipara was unable to return to Hokitika on the same tide. The Rangitoto will be teudered at this port about 11 o'clock this morning. Mr Hawley, the telegraphist, kept tbe office open until a late hour, when he received an intimation from Hokitika that it was not possible for the Waipara to get. in; This being the case, we are only sorry that we could not publish the news in this morning's edition. At the land sale held at Hokitika, yesterday, by the Waste Lands Board, the blocks on which the rifle range is situated were purchased by Captain Hamilton at the upset price, while the land applied for by Mr Kilgour was also purchased by that gentleman at the upset price. The only competition was for a block of land in the New River district, near Marsden, which fetched L 3 10s "per acre. The ceremony of the installation of officers for the ensuing year of the Grey Rivev St. Andrew Lodge of Freemasons, S.C., took place last evening, at the Masonic Hall, Gihner's Hotel. Fast Mas* ters Reid and Bowman, in a most impressive manner, installed the following officers — Brpthers W. M. Cooper, R.W.M ; P. Kent, W.D.M. i J. Arnott, W.S.M. ; T. Kenrick, S.W. ; S. Roulston, J.W. ; S. D. Leon,' Treasurer ; J. P. Taylor, Secretary ; W. E. Veale, S.D. ; P. Boylan, J.D. ; A. Fowler, Tyler. The brother appointed as I.G. being absent in Melbourne could not be installed, After the ceremony was concluded, the members of the Lodge and visiting brethren sat down to supper in. the Masonic Hall, the R.W.M. occupying the chair, supported by Past Masters Reid and Bowman, the vice-chair being ably' filled by Brother Tv Kenrick The usual loyal and masonic toasts were drank, and: many masonic and other songs having' been sung, the brethren separated after spending a very pleasant and social Jevening. ■ ■: Another accident occurred in the New River yesterday afternoon, by which a horse was nearly drowned, and the passengers by the coach from Hokitika were endangered. Owing to the heavy rain, the river was too high for the coach to cross, and. the passengers had to walk from the Teremakau to the New River. A horse was taken across to carry the luggage, and while swimming it over at the stei-n of the punt, in which the passengers were, it rolled oyer and nearly capsized it. The horse was rapidly drowning, and Mr Kilgour and the driver ,]umped>into the river and endeavored to save it. A rope from it to the passengers on the bank was passed, but it broke, and it was only by the active exertions of these gentlemen that tbe animal was landed alive on the beach. We have upon many occasion drawn the attention of the County Chairman to the dangerous state of this crossing, as a ford for the coach could be constructed at a very little expense, but week after week nothing is done, and the lives of all travellers are endangered. It is a very serious matter, and we do hope that something will be done ere some lives are sacrificed. The Star Minstrels and Polygraphic Companygave another entertainment last eveumg, which was very well attended. Mr Bromley was very good in ''The Musical -Party," being warmly applauded, while Mr Buckley, in "Nell, tbe Belle," received a well -deserved round of approval. Mr Bent, as "Uncle Eph," which character he has almost identified himself with, kept the bouse inja roar. The Cuckoo Solo on the violin by Mr La Feuillade created quite & furore, and as an encore, he played " Auld Robin Gray." Master Searrell played the •■■" Ohristchurch Quadrilles,"' composed by himself, and which is pbove the average of such compositions.

The " Comic History of England," with local allusions, by Mr Bent, was very good; and the farce of "The Mischievous Monkey" brought a very pleasant evening's entertainment to a conclusion. The fifth competition for the Handicap Rifle, given by the Greymouth Rangers, took place yesterday. In consequence of the bad weather there were very few entries. The ranges and conditions were the same as in the former matches— 2oo, 400, 500, and 600 yards; five shots at each j and the winner was 001. -Sergt, Chamberlain, who (starting at scratch), made 64 points Vol. G. Taylor, who has won twice already, being second, with 59 points, including 20 allowed in the handicap. It will be noticed that notwithstanding the dissatisfaction expressed in the Company at the heavy handicap, the rifle has been won twice in five competitions by men receiving no points. A charge of embezzlement was on Wednes- ! day preferred against John Faris, by the trustees of the Loyal Waimea Lodge of Oddfellowp, Stafford. The sums alleged to have been misappropriated date back over twelve months ago, during the time the accused was permanent secretary to the Lodge. His Worship, M. Price, Esq., granted a remand until to-day,. bail being allowed and obtained in two sureties of L 25 each, and the defendant in the sum of L5O. i We have been informed by Mr- W. H. Harrison, M.H.K., that he has received a telegram from the Colonial Secretary to the effect that the Road Board money, under the Payment of Provinces Act, which is held in .reserve, for the Nelson South-West Gold Fields, has already been paid into a special account, and cannot be withdrawn thence until Road Boards have been formed in conformity with the promise given by the Superintendent of Nelson. The GeneralGovemoient has also dr y awn the attention of Mr Curtis to the provisions of the law on the subject,, and it is now the duty of the Provincial Auditor to see that the money should 4j'e paid for the purpose for which it has been yqted. The representatives* of the Nelson South-West Gold Fields Districts ought to give special attention to this matter, and, at j the next meeting Sfy the Provincial Council, \ insist upon the creation of the Road Boards on the Gold Fields. The other day we pointed out the benefits which were likely to result from a railway from Greymouth to Hokitika, and the necessity which existed for an agitation of the subject. We find by reference to our files that before Parliament closed, Mr Tribe moved that, prior to the next session of Parliament, the Government cause to be. prepared plans and estimates of railways from Greymouth to Hokitika and from Hokitika to Ross ; and obtain such information as will assist in forming a correct judgment on the merits of such undertakings. He proposed the motion in the hope that in the next session the House would take those works in hand. They would not only be an advantage to Westland, but would be the means of adding vastly to the wealth of the whole Colony. The County had great wealth in her timber, which, if it could only be rendered marketable, would preclude the necessity for sending to Western Australia or to the tseventy-Mile Bush for timber for the railways. Mr Fox could not absolutely undertake to say that the work should be done before the next session. The House had been pleased to give the Government so little time that they would have very little to spare, , but he would promise the honorable members that enquiries should be made. He trusted that some member of the Government would be able to visit the West Coast Gold Fields so as to judge with his own eyes of what was required in the district. At the Resident Magistrate's Court, yesterday, Cjbarles Tregonning was brought up pn remand on a charge of lunacy. Drs Morice and Smith stated that the man was better, and quite fit to be at liberty. The poor fellow, who looked rather wild, was discharged on payment of expeiwes. — Thomas Gaffney, alias Pelliug, was brought up charged with obtaining a loaf of bread under false pretences. Jane Montray stated that on Sunday morning the defendant came into her shop and asked for a loaf for Mr Jones. She supposing it was for a customer of that name, gave it to him, and he left . On acquainting her husband with the fact, he followed him and found him near Mr Coates's store, eating the bread with some of his mates. Information was given to the police and prisoner was apprehended. The prisoner in defence admitted the charge, saying that he was doing nothing. He had been at work at German Gully, but as he was only making L 2 or L 3 per week, he left it. His Worship said that defendant had rendered himself, \mder the Vagrant Act, liable to one year's imprisonment. In answer to inquiries, Mr Subluspector Hickson stated that nothing was known against the prisoner., except that he was a " loafer." Bis Worship sentenced him to one month's imprisonment with hard labor. The following is an account of the number and amount of money orders issued at the offices in Greymouth, Hokitika, Charleston and Westport, for the quarter ending 30th September, 1871 :— Greymouth, .No. 345, amount L 1727 3s lOd ; Hokitika, 468, L 2141 15s 9d ; Charleston, 169, L 730 8s 4d ; Westport, 130, L^o2 9,3 3d. The total number issued tor the Colony during the quarter ending 30th September, 1871, was 9634, amount, L 40.932 0s 6d ; compared with the corresponding quarter of • 1870, No. 8482, amount, L 36.819 18s 9d ; being an increase in number for this year of 1152, and amount, L 4112 Is 9d. By a return recently published, it appears that New Zealand produces annually 5,199,0721 b of butter; of that quantity Auckland produces 1,153,7751 b ; Taranaki, 17485,31 b j Hawke's B,ay, 8,6,63,51 b ; Nelson, 414,0491 b; Marlborough, 93,5711 b j Canterbury, 1,247,5701 b; Westland, 13,5521 b; Southland, 156,2561 b; Chatham Islands, 13001 b. We; also learn that the Colony produces 2,547,5071 b of cheese. Of this CW ; terbury produces 1,646,3401 b; Auckland, 396,5991 b ; Otago, 204,4731 b. The balance is produces by the other Provinces. With regard to a recent gale at Wanganui, the Chronicle±aay6 :— The gale blew quite a hurricane, sweeping down everything that was weak or fragile before it. The destruction in gardens and orchards must be something melancholy to think of. Trees and bushes are blackened and blighted ; peas and potatoes nipped" in their early growth; peacbes did not promise a great crop at the best, and now there will pc little to hope for. Everything of fruit kind, in short, has suffered fearfully. The wind is tempered to | the shorn sheep, but it has been in a rather ' rough, way during the last two nights, when those fleeceless ones must have had a poor time of it. A correspondent writes us from Oamaru that the crops south of Canterbury look splendid. He also mentions that there is a large increase in the breadth sown, amounting to about one-third over last year. On the 15th January will be rowed on the Heathcote, the principal rowing match that has taken place in the Colony for years. Auckland and Wellington have taken steps to have their Province represented. The Marlborough Express of a recent date says :— " Those of our readers who aro not engaged in mercantile transactions can form but a very faint idea of the disadvantages and expense 6i indirect importation. We have ourselves been enlightened on thispoint by practical experience, and as we conside.r that every consumer of imported #bods—*and wi*o is not ?— is equtlly interested with ourselves, wo venture to point out the urgent necessity

for a sea-port easily accessible for shipping, and convenient to the bulk of the Province; We give two instances of costs as paid by us : An invoice of paper from Melbourne was consigned to an agent in Wellington in consequence of there being no direct communication to this Province. The charges from Melbourne to Wellington were Ll 11s, but by the time the goods were landed in Blenheim, the sum had swollen to L4 l7s 6d. This of course put a stop to any further attempt on our part to procure paper from Melbourne. Since that, however, we sent a small order for some type, also to Melbourne, the entire charges on which to Wellington were 10s 6d, amounting in Blenheim to Ll- 3s, 7s 6d of which was simply a toll for passing through Wellington, and for which no service was rendered. If further arguments were needed we could produce a multitude, but we simply state a few facts, and leave our readers to draw the inference. By the Dunedin market, on October 28, oatmeal was quoted at per ton Ll4 ; the price a few days ago in Blenheim, paid by a retail storekeeper, was L 29 ; pearl barley in Dunedin, Ll9 ; ditto in Blenheim, L3O. The increased duty on rice and other inported ■ cereals should induce the people of this Colony to use barley more extensively than they have hitherto done, but we of Marlborough can derive but little benefit from such a course without the advantages of more direot communication with other Provinces and a convenient sea-port — and that isPicton.