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Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1125, 6 March 1872, Page 2

The Flood Relief Committee met at Gilinnr's Hotel last night, H". Kenrick, Esq., in the chair. .Between 50 and 60 applications were received, a number of which were not entertained. About Ll2O was voted among the applicants for relief. The funds at the disposal of the Committee are limited, and they will meet on Tuesday next for the purposo of considering a few applications which are postponed for inquiry. We understand that there is a, probability of a special meeting of the County Council i being called, for the purpose, forsooth, of appointing toll-collectors, according to what are found to be the requirements of some particular Act. There are already five acceptances for the Greymouth Handicap, and it is probable that there will be some addition to that number on receipt of the mail from Auckland. Of the five horses which have accepted, Peeress is at present in Greymouth, Misforfcuno reached the Teremakau yesterday on the way hither, "Why Not is on the , way down from Charleston, Economy is on Ms own ground in tho Groy Valley, aud

Lncenfeed is expected to arrive here from Nelson in the Charles Edward. It is also probable that Black Eagle will come by the Wallabi, which was to leave Auckland on Monday. The County Chairman has granted protection for a feity across the New River to Andrew Tulloch for six months from the 15th ■ February last, with a subsidy of L 25 for that period. . f AVF. F. Etheridge, ,Esq., has been appointed Government' Storekeeper for the County. Edwards and party, in the gully near Scanlan'B Point, Ross, struck wash on Saturday, at 80ft ; it prospects 2gr to the dish. The Nelson Mail publishes the following extract from a telegram received this morning by the Superintendent from the Hon. Mr Reeves — " Orders have been issued a week ago to commence the working survey of the Foxbill line." The Westport Times states that, far from rendering the site of the town more insecure, . tbe new channel is likely to affect it beneficially. There is a general tendency to increase all .along the beach from the lower part of the town towards the Orawiti. Opposite Martin's store a considerable deposit has taken place, as also along the line opposite Dr Thorpe's residence. An empty cottage belonging to Mr Thomas, situated at the entrance to Washington Valley, Nelson, has been burnt. There is no clue whatever to the origin of the fire. In a jeweller's shop in Dunedin, a watch left on a work bench one eveuing could not be found next morning, but was at length discovered in a rot hole twelve feefc distant, to which it had been dragged. The coal-mine at Collingwood is no longer worked. During the time that has elapsed since the opening of the mine 3600[tous have been disposed of, and the demand has been gradually and steadily increasing, all who have used the coal being loud in its praise, and yet, in a pecuniary sense, the working of it has not been attended with satisfactory results. Mr M'PhersoD, a gentleman well known in Dunedin, while out rabbit shooting on the Peninsula, in company with two others, was in the act of loading one barrel of his gun which he had discharged, when the other exploded, carrying away his thumb. Among the recent local contributions of specimens to the Christchurch Museum, we observe there is a skeleton of a male member of the almost extinct race Moriori, which has been brought from the Chatham Islands, and presented by Dr Barker. The height of the subject when alive could not havejbeen more than 4ft 9in, but there is evidence of great strength in the skeleton remains. Further numbers of bones of the Harpagornis Moorei, or New Zealand eagle, have been obtained from Glenmark. A serious accident occurred one day last week, in the neighborhood of Nelson, to the eldest daunhtsr of S. Kingdon, Esq. The young lady was riding alone on the Wakapuaka road, when her horse shied, throwing her, and, as was afterwards ascertained, .breaking her righi; arm in two places above the elbow. Miss Kingdon very courageously walked back to her father's house leading her horse, and on her arrival there, medical assistance was sent for. The Ross News states that two miners, who have occasionally paid the Little Wanganui River a visit during the last twelve months, proceeded to the head of the stream in the beginning of this week, on a prospecting tour. It appears that they have been engaged for some considerable time near the mouth of the Wanganui doing the " black sand business," except when fortune and fair weather enabled. them to. take a trip inland, and so impressed have they become, from their experiences during these trips, that heavy gold only awaits the energy of the miner to bring it "to grass" in the neighborhood of the place they have again turned their attention to, that they have taken a good stock of tools and provisions with them, and are determined to give their "fancy country" a thorough prospecting; We wish them every success in their laborious undertaking. A. C. Strode, Esq., the Resident Magistrate at Dunedin, during the hearing of a recent case of sly grog selling against the holder of a bottle license, expressed himself in the following terms with regard to the system of bottle licenses : — The Magistrate said that the foundation of the system was bad, and so long as the system remained the present evil would bn perpetrated, while the legislators allowed .such .laws to remain on the Statute book. B^t no efforts could put down the evil. The wliole system of bottle licenses was bad. It was found in Melbourne, after long experience, to have demoralised the community, and the consequence was that the Legislature of Victoria, at its last session, had done 'away with the bottle licenses. There was proof of what he had contended for for years— that the system was an accursed and demoralising one. A serious affray was recently reported as having taken place at Tinker's Gully, near Black's, Otago, between some Europeans and Chinese in which one of the Europeans had an arm broken, and a Chinaman, named Ah Lock, received a very severe wound on his head. One version of the affair is that a butcher sold a quantity of pork to a Chinaman, who, upon weighihg.it at bis own tent, found the quantity to be considerably less than what he paid for. Upon going back to thebutcher with this complaint a dispute occurred, and Ah lock is said then to have been struck down by a blow with a shovel. Several Chinese and Europeans then came npon the scene, and a general row. ensued, in which a European of the name of Robert Scott got one of his arms broken and three of the Chinese severe ( fle3h wounds. T)v Niven was called in to attend Ah Lock, and he considers the wound in his head to be of a very serious nature.. .. \_. The following particulars of the life of the late Mr Archibald Bonar, of Hokitika, appear in the West Coast Times :— '/The late Archibald Bonar was born on the '2sth Juno, 1799, at the Manse, Cramond (near Edinburgh), of which parish his father was clergyman for many years. In Edinburgh he spent the greater part of a most active life. He was, during his residence there, principally connected with banking institutions, and for some years previous to his leaving Edinburgh, he had tbe management of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Bank. The greater part of his spare time was devoted to his duties as an Elder of the Church, his untiring energy in which office, and his exertions in visiting many of the poorer parts of Edinburgh, to nunisfcr to the needy and afflicted, will long be remembered by those with whom he was associated in those good works. It was mainly owing to his exertions on behalf of the seamen and their families in the port of Leith that the Floating Chapel and schools for seamen, which have done so much «ood| were organised and established: Of the benefits arising therefiom it was his good fortune, in the latter days of his life, to meet with many instauces, for even on these distant shores he lias repeatedly had the gratification of meetmg with captains of vessels aud others in lower grades who had been educated and trained in those schools. During the memcrable movement which resulted in the formation of the Free Church of Scotland, the late Mr Bonar was one among the many who took an active part in it. He discharged the .-irduona aud responsible duties of Honorary treasurer to that Chinch until his health gave way under the work, and he was obliged,

in consequence, to relinquish it after four years incessant labor. As a layman there were few in Edinburgh more generally respected and beloved, or who held a position of greater influence. In 1851 he left Scotland for Australia, where he continued his career of Christian usefulness, taking a leading part in connection with church matters, and always foremost in encouraging any question of benevolence, aiding every charity to the utmost of his power. In 1863 he came to New Zealand with his family, and although greatly advanced in years be established— and up to tho time of his coming to the West Coast, successfully managed — that useful institution, the Savings Bank, at Invetcargill. He came to the Coast in 1866, and, since his residence here, he pursued the same course ; of life which had become to. him. almost second nature. In the Church, and in works of benevolence, he exhibited an anxious desire to render himself useful even beyond his physical powers. Ho was most assiduous to his duties in connection with the Savings Bank, and may be truly said to have worked out his life for the good of his fellow-creatures and in the service of his Creator. Few of the men of our time have gone down to the gnive in their old age, gathering around them, to so great a degree, the esteem and love of their fellow-men, as did the late Archibald Bonar. The subject of authorised agents appearing in Wardens' Court has again cropped up in the Court at Charleston. According to the Herald, at the opening of the Warden's Court on Thursday morning, upon the case of lTutcheson v. Stapleton being called on, Mr Gillespie rose and said he appeared for the defendant in this case, whereupon Dr Giles remarked that it is as not his intention to allow any cases for tdie future to be conducted by other than professional gentlemen in this Court. He had no desire to disappoint Mr Gillespie's client upon thi3 occasion, but for the future he would not be allowed to practise. Had any registered raining advocate been practising regularly he -would not have made any sudden change, but as Mr Gillespie had not practised for at least six months, he would be doing him no injustice in preventing him from appearing for the future. Mr Gillespie proceeded to "argue the question," upon which the Warden remarked that without meaning any disrespect, he did not iutend to hold an argument upon the matter ; he had carefully considered it and fully made up his mind against the practice. The following mining items are from the Boss Nmvs: — The Old Whim party have struck the fifth bottom in Jones' Flat, and find it prospects about 9gr to the dish. They drove from the fourth, and caught the fifth about 90ft in. — An attempt is being made to form a party to work the Southern Cross and Blue Jacket claims, which, if 'taken in hand by a good party, will pay well. The appliances are excellent, and gold can be got the first day of working. — In German Gully, the Haphazard party have sunk into the terrace bottom quite dry. This is a party of working miners, who have taken up a ten-acre lease, and intend prospecting for deep ground. —At Clearwater the returns are first-rate. Purnell's party intend putting up a whim. — We are sorry to learn that the wheel on the Roy&l Standard Claim, which was constructed very lately, is slightly out of repair, the spokes bavins; become loose in the spindle, which will entail a stoppage to remedy the evil. A robbery of gold on the Nine-mile Beach is thus reported by the Charleston Herald: — "On Saturday afternoon the boxes of the vaiious parties, between thirty and forty in number, were laid up as usual, and nothing warranting suspicion of foul play occurred until Monday morning, when three parties, whose claims adjoin one another, discovered that the slide plates, immediately situated under the hoppers, had disappeared, and with them of course the accumulation of their washings for two or three weeks past. None other of the plates were interfered with. The suffering parties are George R. Brown, who estimates his loss at L 1 0; Mat Kinnshon and Daniel Donnahy, whose losses are respectively estimated at L2O and Lls, the total loss thus being L 45, Information was immediately given to the police, when Sergeant Mabery, with a warrant to search the hut of a man named Stapleton, alias ' Dick the Devil,' whom, for some reason or another, the parties appeared to have reason to suspect for the deed. The Sergeant made observations and searched the hut and surroundings, but was unable to fiud anything likely to lead to the detection of the thief, The foot-prints near the boxes tho Sergeant identifies as that made by a boot similar to those worn by Stapleton's son, and which is of. a peculiar pattern on the sole, but he was unable to procure any evidence of a substantial character to warrant arrest." At the workings of Messrs Greenbuik and Co., atDrybread, Otago, sluicing is carried on upon a more advanced system ' than in any other part of the Province. Their waterrace is brought in at an elevation of some 80ft perpendicular height above their claims, and water is conducted from the race to the working face in iron pipes, which gives great pressure, and enables them to wash away, in a given space of time, a much larger quantity of gronnd, and with less men, than under the usual mode. The piping was manufactured at a Duuedin foundry, is made of sheet iron (11 to 14 guage) in lengths of 2Ofo, and is ri vetted liko boiler plates. The diameter of the . piping varies from seven to eleven inches, and it is guaranteed to sustain a pressure occasioned by a 200 ft perpendicular drop. A brass nozzle. . with a two-inch bore, is attached to the iron piping by means of a length of giittaipercha tubing, five inches in diameter, and half an inch thick. About 200 ft of iron piping weighs a toa, and it costs, delivered on the ground, •not over 7s 6d the running foot. Messrs Greenbank and Co use about 5000 ft in working their three claims. At the banquet given to Mr Chasi Broad, prior to his departure from Charleston, Mr Broad said :—" At the time he took charge of this field it- was only an alluvial one. When, however, it was becoming worked out, and the rush to Auckland was attracting numbers away, he forced upon the Provincial Government the necessity of granting larger claims and leases, and ho was certain that it was the granting of those leases which had led to the advancement and prosperity of the Charleston district, coupled with . the facilities afforded by a water supply. He referred now particularly to the Charleston reservoir, granted to Hague's and' party. They were all aware that there had been considerable difficulty about granting that right. There were the difficulties in the matter of prior rights, &c, but he had been indebted to Surveyors Greenwood and Dobson for suggesting the way out of the3e difficulties, and of obtaining the desired supply whilst respecting all prior rights, thus enabling a larger amount of ground to be profitably worked by a greater number of miners. Thus great good had accrued to the district, and he was glad therefore to see, when leaving it, that there were remaining every signs of permanent prosperity. He might remark that the Premier had said to him, since his visit, that he had not seen a district which had more signs of prosperity than this."