THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1872.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1110, 17 February 1872, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. SA TURD AY, FEBR UARY 16, 1872.

The Hon. Mr Fox, accompanied by Mr Warden Whitefoord, will leave town this morning on his visit to the Grey Valley and the Inangahua reefs. The first stopping place will, of course, "be the coal mine, after inspecting which the party will proceed to the Ahaura, and remain there over Sunday. On Monday, Mr Fox will visit some of the places in the immediate neighborhood of the Ahaura, and on Tuesday he will proceed on to Reefton. The construction of fresh protection works at the head of the town i<s now in full progress. A deep trench has been cut, towards which large blocks of stone are brought bya short tramway from the quarry in the cliff under Mr Hindmarsh's house, and in that trench tho stones are being shaped into a strong breakwater, apparently capable of resisting the heaviest floods. This work, it is understood, will be carried dowj along the present line of protection works, the only limit to its extension being, of course, the means at command. Near the present work, fresh standards for the punt wire are being erected, and in a few days the traffic by punt will be resumed. By the steamer Charles Edward a number of old West Coast residents who had arrived at Nelson from Auckland were landed at Westport, intending to proceed by the Buller road to the reefs'. Mr Broad, the Warden at Reefton, arrived at Westport yesterday, and it is said he brought with him LI 7OO which had lately been received in the Inangahua district as Provincial revenue. Mr Acton Adams and Mr Harper, of Nelson, who had lately been visiting Reefton, and who invested in some reefs there, arrived at Westport on the same day. ■ Murray's Circus Troupe— t* numerous and clever company of equestrians— arrived in Oreymouth yesterday by the steamer Charles Edward, and are announced to give their first performance this evening in the paddock adjoining the old Native Reserves Office. Mackay street. Since their visit to the I Coast, they have been performing at Westport wid Charleston, where they have been very favorably noticed by the local papers. . We are infoimed that an arrangement has been made betwenri the Provincial Government of Otago, tho Harbor Steam Company of Dunedin, and the proprietors of the Anchor line of steamers, for a subsidised monthly steam service from Dunedin to the West Coast, terminating at Martin's Bay. Either, tho Kennedy or Charles Edward will be despatched from this port about three months hence, for Martin's Bay, to test, the practicability of such a service. .: , The Borough Council met last evening. There was a full attendance. The Mayor intimated that negotiations were still going on as to raising funds for protection works, and that they would soon have submitted to them the terms of the arrangement which it was proposed to make. Reference was made by several Councillors to the immediate necessity for repairs of different streets, and it was agreed to refer to the Finance Committee the duty of raising the requisite funds, and -to tho Public Works Committee the work of proceeding with the repairs. The Town Surveyor estimated that the repairs would not cost less than LIOO, and it was agreed to effect them by day labor, .under proper sui pervision. It was also left to the same Committee to obtain LSO for the repairs of Arney street bridge, while instructions were | giren to the Town Clerk to engage a boat* man, to convey people across the lagoon, during the daytime, whUe the bridge was under repairs, or to provide a temporary footway. On the motion of Mr Moore, the Clerk was instructed to direct the attention of the County Chairman to the meritorious conduct of the police on the occasion of the flood. A rate of Is in the pound on Borough was struck, and, after some other business, tho meeting adjourned. . At the Resident Magietrate'a Court, \o.t Camptown, before Caleb Whitefoord, Esq., ( R.M., on Tuesday, 13th inst, Margaret Slattery, an old offender, was severely cautioned and fined 20s, for being drunk and dig* orderly at No Town.— Duncan M'lntyre was fined 20s for a similar offence, and 20s for obstructing the police in the execution of their duty. — A charge of using abusive and insulting language was brought by a carpenter from No Town against a .butoher of the same place, The case was dismissed.— A number of^ civil cases were called and adjourned, as it wad stated that the suitors could not reach the Court in consequence of the flooded state of the riyers. In the Warden's Court, M'Kenzie and party applied for an abandoned tunnel at Cockney Terrace, at No Town. The application was opposed by Ranger and party, who produced a car.

tificate of registration for it. The applicants proved that the . opposers had not worked in the tunnel since 22nd January. To this the opposers replied that their absence'from »york was to be accounted for by a filibustering storekeeper taking away one of their trucks. It came out during the hearing of this case that the applicants had discovered a new ..lead . near the face of . the terrace, and that their average earnings were from L6to L 8 per share per week. The applicants offered to allow the opposers to occupy the ground inwards from their back lend. Judgment was given for the applicants. In a case between the before-mentioned carpenter and butcher from No Town, about disputed pegs of adjoining business sections, the carpeuter came off victorious with three feet of j laud besides, and the defendant was adjudged to pay costs. Both Courts were adjourned to 2lst February. It is the intention of the Hokitika Dramatic Club to give aii entertainment on Friday Dext, in aid of the sufferers by the late floods at Greymouth. ■ The' lnangaliua Herald mentions that two Nelson gentlemen, Mr Adams and Mr G. Harper, have within the last few days pur^ chased to the extent of LIOBS. Mr D, Sheedy and Mr J. T. Fitzgerald, of Greymouth, have secured valuable interests in the reefs at a cost of between L7OO and LBOO. The inhabitants of Charleston have had an exceptionally intellectual and speechmaking week. The reports of the interviews with the Premier occupy six columns in the local paper, and subsequently tho residents were addressed by the Superintendent on Provincial affairs, and by Captain Baldwiu on Life Assurance. Tho West Coast Times mentions that in its report of the public meeting at the Town Hall which appeared in our issue of yesterday, it omitted to state that the Chairman announced the receipt of ten guineas from the District Lodge of Oddfellows, and two guineas from, the Hokitika Lodge. In the County Council, on Thursday, Mr Hoos asked, .by leave, without notice, "Whether the contract, as entered into by Mr Garven for the construction of the Greymouth and Coal Pit road, is being carried on? He asked the question because he had been led to believe that the work was neglected, and it would be well to clear up the matter. The Chairman said that with respect to one section, it had. been found necessary: to make a deviation in consequence of the road crossing the line of the projected railway at that spot. That would not, however, interfere with the contract, as provision was made in it for such a contingency. The County Engineer had gone up to see to the matter, and the work on that section would soon be resumed. The other sections wore beiug proceeded with. Mr Hoos gave notice that, on Monday :he would move—' ' That all documents having reference to the"- letting of the road -between Greymouth and the Coal Gorge be laid on the table." Eleven men have had a narrow escape of being poisoned at (Jpoot station, Awatere. By some accident, a quantity of arsenic became mixed with the flour^ and all hands having eaten it, there was no one able to go for medical assistance. Ten of the men have now recovered, but one is still ill. - By tte last homeward mail word was forwarded to the Agent-General in London to send out two first-class engineers. Several names of engineers were f urnishod him by Mr Carruthers to be communicated with upon coming out to New Zealand. The two obtained are to be placed under Mr Carruthers, one to each island, who will be directly responsible to Mr Carruthers for the manner in which every Colonial work is being carried out. They will be termed district engineers, and. will have the several resident engineers subordinate to them. Cyrus Haley, whose capture at Auckland was recently reported, has been committed for trial on the following counts : — Shooting with intent; sending a threatening letter; burning Mr Russell s stacks. He is also charged with having set fire to Messrs Archard and Brown's Kerosene store, on the 25th January, 1871. There has been a fearful bush fire at Coromandel. The amount of mischief already done is estimated at no less than L 20,000, a great quantity of very valuable timber having been destroyed. It is said that the escape of the properties saved was almost miraculous. Mr Inspector Broham is described by the Auckland papers as deserving of the very highest recognition for the very plucky manner in which he captured Haley. He seems to have' acted with great forethought in spreading out his men, and bis Own personal conduct in the affair ahould not be allowed to pass without an expression of the highest approbation, It ia stated by the Inatigajiua Herald that arrangements have been entered into with the shareholders in Adam Smith's Prospecting Claim for alj ;i the necessary crushing machinery ; and also, for the .construction of water wheel, water-race, and tramway from the mine to the machine site, Tho boiler for W. M 'Lean's Company has been advanced to Cement Town, a distance of 300 yards only from the company's machine. Considerable difficulty must be overcome, short as is the distance it has yet to be transported, ere it is fixed permanently. The ceremony of opening the organ just erected in Christ Church, Nelson, took place on Tuesday evening, when the building was crowded in .every part, The service was almost entirely musical, the choirs of both the city churches uniting on the occasion. The instrument was played by Air J. Holloway, of the Bank of New Zealand, under whose direction it had been erected.. At the Resident Magistrate's Court, at Ahaura, on Thursday, 15th -jtastant, before C. Whitefpordj Esq, It.M, George Page was charged on remand with criminally assaulting Margar,ct Dewsbn, a child of tender years, The case had been adjourned from Colujon for tjje production .of further evidence for the prosecution. The evidence, such as it was, tnriiod out to be in favor of the Accused. Messrs James Lock (of Marr and Lock, Napoleon and Half-Ounce) and James M'Laugblin (of Napoleon and Ahaura) were sworn, and spoke highly of the defendant's character. The case was dismissed, the Magistrate remarking that the defendant had acted indiscreetly in taking the child away from the control of its mother, but that the evidence did not support the charge. Rf r Staite appeared for the prosecution, and Mr Guinness for the defence. A number of Eubiicans were fined for breaches of the jcensing Ordinance at Half-Ounce. Another of the celebrated "porkicide" cases from Napoleon came before the Court. Samuel Loftquest laid a criminal information against Timothy O'Neill for "maliciously and feloniously killing and slaying certain cattle, to wife two pigs,", tho property of the complainant. The slaughter took place as long ago as October, 1871. The; hearing of the charge^ occupied Jtfee Court the greater part of the day, and the Magistrate reserved his decision for a week. As the lay stands, fourteen years' imprisonment wish hard labor can be given for this offence. A number of civd caaes were disposed of, including Hayes v. v enables, which has been four times before the Court. Judgment was again given for the plaintiff with costs.' In" the Warden's Court an important djspute about water rights at Half-Ounce was settled, and after bearing a number of applications, tlie Courts ;were adjourned to" the 2&id Feb.- '