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Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1071, 3 January 1872, Page 2

The sum of LIOO has been received from Clifton on behalf of the funds of the Grey River Hospital / The anniversary of the formation of the Greymoutli Volunteer Fire Brigade will be celebrated by a ball and supper at Gilmer's Hotel this evening. It is particularly requested that all applications for tickets will be sent in to the Committee before noon to-day. ; ,; , The first time for five years the children's annual picnic was a failure this year, owing . to the heavy fall of rain which commenced with the New Year, and continued for nearly thirty-six hours. The promoters of the annual festival resolved yesterday to assemble the children in the Volunteer Hall in the evening, and give 'them the best possible makeshift for their annual treat. Some hundreds accordingly assembled and passed a pleasant evening, dkcussing the good things provided for them. The only case at the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday was that of Rose Davidson, charged with lunacy. It appeared that the unfortunate woman, who is a domestic servant, was engaged to be married on Sunday, the 24th ult., but from some cause it was postponed, which seemed to have preyed upon her mind, and she told a person named: Malletfc, with whom she was staying, that her intended husband, had gone to drown himself, and that she would go too, and that: various persons were getting up a plot against her. She was remanded till to-day for medi- ' cal examination. ... In addition to the acknowledgment which has already appeared, Mr Rupg, the Superintendent of the Grey River Hospital has tne pleasure of directing attention to the contributions which were generously forwarded to i the Hospital for the entertainment of the 1 patients on New Year's Day, which was found fully adequate to the requirements of the occasion, and elicited many expressions of gratitude for the sympathy and consideration shown :— Miss Heapby, a basket of new laid eggs ; Schlichting Brothers, packet cigars ; Mrs Burchell, half-dozen lbs fresh bubter, 1 bottle brandy, 1 bottle old torn ; Mr D. Letham, 3 cakes ; Mr Morton, Oriental Hotel, 5 bottles Colonial wine, 3 bottles porter ; Mr G. Martin, Cove of Cork Hotel, 1 bottle whisky, 1- bottle claret ; Mr Anseline, Golden Age Hotel, 4 bottles porter ; Mr Buls trod c, Oddfellows' ; Hotel, half-dozen stout;' Mr D. Sheedy, Brian Boru Hotel, 2 fowls; Mr Gough, 2 bjttks Colonial wine ; Mrs R. Kerr, National Hotel, calves head, half side lamb ; MrMiddleton, Wharf Hotel, 3 bottles cordials, 3 bottles Colonial wine ; Mr. J. Jones, lialf-dozen stout; Mr J. C. Moore, Queen's Hotel, 1 bottle port, 1 bottle sherry, 3 bottles stout, 3 bottles ale. Mr Cooper, fruiterer, 1 fowl ; Mr J. Alexander, 1 coke ; a Friend, 2 geese ; Mr S. Gilmcr, 1 bottle old torn. 1 goose ; Mr Hunt, Club Hotel, 1 bottle Colonial wine, 3 bottles stout ; a Friend, 2 bottles calves' foot jelly ; Mr F. Kent, 3 plates jelly; Mr Basch, 1 box cigars ; Mr Hunter, 2 boxes pipes and a parcel of tobocco. . The Southern Cross says : — " We understand that' lmmigration movements have begun in this Province with considerable energy. The form it is taking is the application of persons now in the Province to get their friends at home taken out under the hmnigration scheme. By last mail theie were the names of fifty persons so recommended sent to the Agent-General of the Colony in London. There is no doubt that in a few months a considerable number of pel-sons will have been so approved of^and will shortly be on their way to this ProvinceJl flp- ■ As^he news of the intention of the General Government to immediately construct the dray road to Reefton gains credence, parties in the neighborhood of the Saddle are giving their time and labor towards prospecting for the best possible route. Among others, Mr James O' Mai oy has been out, and has discovered a good route for a dray road in about seventeen miles from the Little Grey Junction to Reefton. We have seen a letter of his on this subject, which says:-— "I have much pleasure in informing you that with very little trouble, and the loss only of a day, I have discovered and blazed a portion of a road that will, before many weeks transpire, become the only and undoubted best road of communication with the reefs. On Sunday morning, 31st December, in company with Jenkin, a miner, I left Reefton. Having crossed the Tnangahua, opposite Barker's store, we took bearings south by Houth-west. We soon made Darkies Creek, the distance being about one mile. Tlu3 small cr.eek runs into the Devil's Creek . We then made for the leading spur, and we attained the highest part of it in two miles. Our object in making the spur was, that we could command a view of the Little Grey, leaving the low laying country to our right, and by these means keeping a good view as we proceeded. The track we blazed is about four miles in length, and we came out one and a half miles from the junction of the Slab Hut, and ten miles from the Junction, making the wholedistance less than seventeen miles, over a country presenting advantages for a good dray or waggdn road— that is wanting on the old road. As I hear Dr Hector is about visiting the district, I shall be very glad to accompany him over the reefs by this load." No more important 'Sale 'of thoroughbred stock has ever been held in the Colonies than that which will take place at Melbourne on the 12th of January; the trustees of the eatate of the late Mr John Moffatt having determined to submit the whole of the deceased gentleman's yaluable stud of the? roughbreds to public competition on thai date. The lot comprises forty-two animals, of which nineteen, are imported Bjbock, and twenty-tbree^ Colonial -bred. Amongst the former is the famous English sire Tim Whiffler; The performances of this celebrated horse are familiar, we believe, "to all sporting men. ; For the Asoot Cup he ran a dead heat with Buckstone, and in other two of the principal weight for age. races in England— the Goodi wood Cup and the Doncaster Cup- he proved himself the victor. He also won the Chesteu Cup against a large field, when he wat* heavily handicapped. Of the character of

others among the imported stock, it is sufficient to say that they are by such fashionable and well known sires as The Cure, Venison, Monarque, Flying Dutchman, Gladiateur, Blair Athol, Saunterer, arid Caractucus. Lady Athol and Queen of the May, two-year old fillies, were purchased as yearlings at one of the late Mr Blenkiron's annual sales, for 320 guineas and 360 guineas respectively. Amongst tho ColohiaM>red- mares will be found animals of note, such as Calliope, by CEther.out of Cassandra, and dam by Cainden; Sour Grapes, by Fishe.rm.an, from Gildemire, who, when a twd«yeat-old, defeated Mr Tait's celebrated Barb ; Gasworks, by Fisherman out of .Gaslight,- winner of the Australian Cup, St. ESgerj and other races ; and Coquet, by Sir Hercules, winner of the Sydney St. Leger. There are also some very promising youngsters by. Ace of Clubs and Fireworks. All those animals are reported .to be in excellent condition, and when it is considered that the stud "was selected, by the late Mr Moffatfc with great judgment, and regardless of expense, from the best strains of blood in England, France, and Australia, it may fairly be expected that there will be a great turn-out of lovers of horseflesh fiom all parts of the Colonies on the day of sale. The Dunedin Echo says:— On authority we can state that the money subscribed in Otago in aid of the wounded in the late Continental war has not as yet been sent to its destination. The up-country donations have not as yot been received, and the Dunedin donations are kept back on that account. We fancy that by this time the war wounds must have healed. Delays are dangerous, and this delay shows that French war scars can come and go quite independent of Otago's generosity. - , Leaving ; a door urilotjlced led, on Christmas day, not to disastrous consequences, but: to consequences ' the reverse of pleasant, especially to hungry and Christmas-loving people. Mr Griffiths, a farmer at theOrari, believed, it appeared, so thoroughly in the honesty of his fellow-men, that he left his front door unlocked whilst absent with Iris family during a portion of that day. Upon his return, they found, to their dismay, that all the good Christmas dainties provided had utterly disappeared, and not a vestige of them was anywhere to be found. From signs in the room, it was evident that the rascally thieves were biped. The kettle had been boiled, tea made, and the intruders evidently had enjoyed themselves "muchly." Not only, did they eat to their hearts' content, but what was too bulky to consume there and then, they must have— putting all manners aside— "pocketed." .-,,., ••■■■• During the voyage of the Royal Dane, which ai rived at Brisbane, from London, early in the present month, with a number of immigrants, a murder was committed by one of the steerage passengers, named Frederick Rogers. He and second cook (Edward ' Smith) bad' ah altercation in the galley, in consequence of the refusal of the latter to allow him to. get a light, and the unfortunate victim' was stabbed to the heart in the scuffle, and died next day. . The murderer seems to have had a reputation for being quarrelsome on board, and to have made free use of threats to several of his shipmates. , He was at once placed in irons, and is now awaiting his trial in gaol. : A very sad accident occurred on Sunday last, at the Arahura, resulting in the death by drowning of Robert Thompson, a son of Mr Thompson, of the Arahura bridge. The deceased, a fine young fellow of about IS years of age, had gone to bathe with another lad, named Cliarles Harris, in a lagoon close to the mouth of the Arahura river. After swimmjug across the lagoon Harris got out and was disinclined to swhn, back again. Young Thompson, however, swam back, and when veiy near the side he had first started from he called out to his companion that he was seized with cramp. Harris immediately swam to the assistance of Thompson, who was drowning when he got to him. Tho deceased caught at Harris by the throat, and both went down. * Harris was gob out by another young man and was speedily brought to life, but when the. body of young Thompson was • recovered life was quite- extinct. Every effort was made to restore animation, but without avail. : His Honor the Superintendent of Marlborough, A. P. Seymour, Es^., in addressing the electors of the 'Wairau district on the 18th ultimo, said— " There are wilder ideas expressed than that Nelson should be reannexed to Maryborough. If Nelson was shorn of her gold /fields— and it is not improbable that gold-bearing districts of the West Coast "may be all united into one great: county— Marlborough would then be more populous than Nelson." The 'Express says — "It is said that another Neldoii gentleman, the Hon. T. Re"nwlck;?ig> -likely. to take uphis abode amongst us, being in treaty for Netherfield. We shall welcome him and any other aooessionj from Nelson especially, and it is possible Ithat Mr Seymour's hypothesis of the annexation of Nelson to Marl-' borough is nearer realisation than many people think." . : The work of erecting the Rangitata bridge, Canterbury Province, which was commenced about nine months ago, is progressing favorably. We have already published a detailed description of the bridge, but it may.be now worth mentioning that-it will be, exclusive of approaches, 1258 ft in length, that. 900 tons of iron will be used in .its construction, 500 tons of timber for the roadway, and 167"tons of cement,, and that it is estimated to cost, when finished, between L 19 ,000 and L 20.000. Seventeen of the cylinders constituting ihe piers have been sunk, and the superstructure is being finished as fast as the cylinders on which it is to rest are being put down. Considerable difficulty'has been experienced in getting the cylinders in, the main "channel into their places ; and several of the wing dams, ejected for protecting them while beiny put down, have been carried away by floods. A heavy flood lately had not the slightest effect upbn the structure. The main channel lias, now been crossed. There are 38 cylinders yet to be driven ; but as the gieatest difficulty— the'sinking of the cylinders in the mid-stream— has been overcome, it is expected that the whole work will be completed in four or five months. The method of sinking the cylinders' is one : common at home, but new in New Zealarid. The water is kept out of them by compressed air putrped in, and the excavator— only one can operate at a time in each cylinder — works uuder this pressure. Some are affected with temporary deafness, but as a rule the compressed atmosphere has no, effect upon the men who stay below for fqur.hours. at a time. The interior of tlie cylinder under the pressure keeps perfectly dry; without the pressure, the water rises inside to the height at which it is in the body qf the. river. Mr Blair, .of Dunedin," is the engineer qf the bridge. • ; ' ' .