THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, MARCH 25, 1872.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1141, 25 March 1872, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, MARCH 25, 1872.

An extraordinary meeting of the Inan> gahua Quartz Crushing Company will be held at the Albion Hotel, this evening, at 8 o'clock.

Mr South, Hokitika, has been appointed Revising Barrister for the County of Westland, under "The Friendly Societies Act, 1867." Notice is given in the Nelson Provincial Gtazette that the lease dated Ist July, 1870, to William Meutes, Manager of "Who'd Have Thought it Gold Sluicing Company, Registered," of six acres, Grey District, has been surrendered.

There are to be only three other exhibitions in Greymouth. of theDioramaof the American War, and the attractions of the exhibition are to be supplemented by a distribution of gifts, numerous and valuable. On Saturday the Diorama was exhibited to some hundreds of children in the afternoon, and iv the evening there was a fair attendance of adults, •who, by their frequent applause, seemed to appreciate the excellence of the pictures and the very intelligible oral description of tho incidents which they illustrate.

On the arrival of the Wallabi, yesterday, n considerable amount of speculation was in(l ilged in as to the reasons the captain had for lying over at Flagstaff Point, but doubt soon resolved itself into certainty when her stock t>f cattle, and horses were observed to bo there discharged. This is the result of the

recent decision whereby the importers, Messrs Seaton and Davidsou, considered themselves injured, and. as no dues are demanded there, and a bare shingle-bed is not called a wharf, we believe they intend, in future, to make that the landing-place for all their stock. Letters of naturalisation have been issued by the Governor in favor of Mr Joseph Booth, hotelkeeper, Greymouth. The subscriptions collected in Christchurch alone towards tho establishment of a Corn Exchange have reached to about L2OO. The Lytlelton Times speaks of tho Otago Daily lHvves as a paper that once had principles, politics, and distinct aims, but which now dispenses doses of the mildest flapdoodle. Mr, M'Donogh, postmaster at Waupanui, has accepted an appointment as travelling commissioner to the Annuities and Life Insurance department of the Government. Dr Bruen, of Westport, makes the following intimation to his debtors : — " As I intend to leave Westport directly, 1 wish persons indebted to me to pay at once ; if not I will take them to Court. " A lecture given by the Hon. Mr Fox, at Hokitika, on Friday evening, was well attended. The subject was " Travels in the East," and the object was the benefit of the Hokitika Academy. Mr Bedlington, who has for some time past been engaged in boring for coal at Wangarei, Auckland, has reached a depth of 200 ft, and the indications promise a discovery of coal within a fortnight. The Southern Gross complains that Auckland is the only centre of a town population in New Zealand which cannot boast of possessing a volunteer lire brigade. A Canterbury stockowner has named a yearling colt Sir Charles Dilke, got by High Treason, out of Remedy, by the Cure, out of Young Madcap. The Chief Taraia at the Thames is dead. His nephew telegraphed to Mr Mackay to get a coffin with a glass lid made, so as to keep his body visible. A large gathering of natives from all parts of the Province assembled to tho tangi. The total nnmber of acres under crop hi Canterbury, as ascertained by the recent census, is 282,268. The gross acreage under crop in 1871 was 217,527. There is thus an increase of 65,741 acres in 1872. The first locomotive used on the North Canterbury Railway is expected to be taken through from Christchurch to Canterbury today (Monday). The tender of Mr Akerston for L2lB has been accepted for repairing the Government wharf at Nelson. The Nelson Colonist fails . to discover the necessity for the appointment of an Inspector of Gold Fields Leases : — " Surely there are plenty of officials on some of whom this paramount duty can devolve." Mr Ffrost, of Christchurch, has succeeded in producing a remarkably good adaptation of what is known as the celebrated American rubber stamp. Messrs Brogden are inviting tenders in Dunedin for two hundred ballast waggons, | to be delivered in Auckland. The Dunedin tenderers are sanguine of securing the contract. The meeting of the excavators in the Port Chalmers railway tunnel, from both sides of the work, took place quite unexpectedly on Saturday afternoon (March 16). The workmen were entertained in Dodson's Provincial Hotel by Mr Proudfoot during the evening The latest " Yankee notion,"— tho knitting machine — liar Ueeu luuuauutsa u> i/iic public of Napier by an enterprising speculator, Mr Langbridge. It is stated that the apparatus will knit 20,000 stitches in one minute, and complete a pair of stockings in less than half an hour. MrH. H. Travcrs, of Wellington, who has recently returned from a visit to the Chatham Islands, has brought back with him a valuable and. almost complete collection of botanical specimens of species indigenous to the islands. The collection has been placed in the Colonial Museum. It was recently announced that the Go- ] vernment of Marlborough had proclaimed the extreme end of the peninsula between Queen Charlotte Sound and Port Gore a gold field, through a reef containing gold having been discovered there. We now hear of the spot having been visited by a number of persons from Picton, who all obtained specimens of gold-bearing quartz. The dwelling-house of Mr Bishop, of Kai-teri-teri, a few miles north of Motueka, was destroyed by fire on the 19th instant, as waa also the hop-kiln, a quantity of hops, and all the household furniture. Miss Bishop, his sister, a young lady who recently joined him from England, had a narrow escape with her ] life. The loss sustained is valued at fully LSOO ; no part of the property was insured. " Curly" Bray, who competed with Manning in the late wrestling match at Christchurch, is unable -to resume work. The muscles of the chest were so strained in the contest that he has been under medical treatment ever siuce. Indeed, the injury is quite as bad, if not worse, than having broken ribs. The Westport Times of Tuesday last, mentions that twenty tons of machinery, and merchandise were dispatched that morning for Eeefton and intermediate places, but complaints are still general as to the impossibility of obtaining boats to convey the ne.cessary provisions to the inhabitants in the interior. Gypsum (sulphate of lime) is said to exist in quantity in Canterbury. Anhydrous sulphate of lime has been found in the Ashley district, Jand specimens have been brought into. Christchurch. Gypsum is used for the manufacture of plaster of Paris, of which considerable quantities are yearly imported from England. A man named Thomas Edwards, who had been arrested by Constable Kennedy at the Selwyn, Canterbury, for stealing a parcel of stores, escaped from custody and has not since been heard of. Having no lock-up available, Constable Kennedy looked his prisoner up in a loose box for the night, but on opening the door next morning the jail bird had flown. At Charleston, Saturday and Monday last, although both days were kept in lieu of St. Patrick's Day, passed off very quietly—, very different to former occasions. The Herald, however, says that a large amount of gold was disposed of, and, more to the purpose, a very large nnmber of open accounts were squared up, some extending a long period Sack. A vory fine specimen of alluvial gold, consisting of three nuggeta weighing about forty ounces, which were obtained at Irishman's Creek, Lyeli, have been brought to Westport. So much is being said about the Inangahua that the Lysll is now scarcely ever mentioned|; still, says the 2 r »»e«,Jthero is no doubt that both in reefs and alluvial mining it will bear comparison with any part of the district. The death of a well-known horse named "Peter Flat" is noticed by the Wanganui Chronicle:- "He died from sheer old agehe was 19 years old. Peter Flat was the best of his particular breed in the district, and has always been a favorite with horsebreederß. Peter was descended from 'gentle blood, and had distinguished himself more than once in his younger days, on the race-

course. He won the Earl Spencer Plate at Northampton in" a field of eighteen horses ; ran second for the Grandby Handicap ; won the Claret Stakes at Brighton ; and was second for the Goodwood Stewards Cup in a field of 34. Some of his stock have also distinguished themselves greatly in- the same way. Presto, won 23 races in the Middle Island. Miss Flat also beat the well-known Peeress, allowing her 41b. At the time of his death ho belonged to a son oE Mr John Walker aud Mr Chadwick." . There are at present nine female prisoners in Westporfc gaol, and four more are expected. Westport was, some years ago, the resort of some of the worst class of females, and, as the principal 'gaol on tlio Nelson God Fields is situated there, their numbers have, been considerably increased by others being forwarded tbere to undergo their sentence. The Rev. T. Booker has been accidentally killed ab Maungaturato, Kaipara, Auckland Province. He was engaged in f elling a large remu tree, when the tree in falling took an opposite direction to what was expected, and came upon the reverend gentleman with such force as to cause concussion of the ' brain and break one of. his arms and a leg. Death was instantaneous. He leaves a wife and one son. , / Writing of the result of the Greymouth Handicap, the Nelson Examiner says :— ' ' Weight will tell. The 2st 41b Peeress had to concede to Misfortune in the Greymouth Handicap, proved, as we expected, too much for Mr Redwood's mare, although she secured second place— the pair coming in first and second as wo placed them. The quality of the winner was well known to Mr Redwood, by whom she was bred and had been raced, . and she was feared by him from the time the handicap was published." The Perseverance Company, Collingwcod, have now driven from west to east about 240 feet, where they struck the reef five feet thick, running nearly north and south, with a dip to the northward. For the last fortnight they have been engaged making a whim for hauling the stuff up the incline shaft, which has a gradient of one s mfoUr feet and one in five feet. They continue the drive to the south at right angles to the incline shaft at its termination, following the leef. The manager has obtained some ve»y fcir prospects lately from the stone. The following is the Gazette notice according to which Mr Reyell's jurisdiction as a Resident Magistrate is extended to Nelson, and that of Mr Whitefoord to the Greymouth district: — "His Excellency the Governor has been pleased to appoint William Horton Revell, Esq., J.P., to be a Resident Magistrate for the Resident Magistrate's District of Nelson South- West Gold Fields j and Caleb Whitefoord, Esq., J.P., to be a Resident Magistrate for the Resident Magistrate's District of Greytnoutb ; and as such Resident Magistrates to exercise extended jurisdiction to one hundred pounds." The Excelsior Company at Ross are; steadily improving in their returns. During the last few days the yields from eight hours' work have increased from soz up to B£oz, with indications of still further improvement. This y,eld, says the Neios, is obtained under great disadvantages of working, which will be removed very soon, when double the quantity of wash will be got out; but even at the present rate— about 240z a day — the claim will pay splendidly. All the claims in Jones's Flat are now on gold and some paying well. The recent action for libel against Mr Curie, the proprietor of the Ross Guardian, broke down, in consequence of the Grand Jury ignoring the bill. The defendant in f.li« action, according to *!"= Hol»it;i»<v £**,?-, is most intensely disappointed at the result, as he had been put to a very considerable amount of expense and inconvenience in retaining counsel and preparing for the defence. It now appears that Mr Curie had decided upon justifying the statements made concerning Mr Archer, and the Guardian of Thursday contains a copy of the indictment, and alro of the plea. An inquest was held at Hokitika on Friday, as to the death of Martin Henry Kelly, whose body had been found in the beach lagoon. From the evidence it appeared that the deceased had for some days been in a melancholy mood, and taken little food. He had slept at the Munster Hotel on Tuesday last, but in the morning his bed was unoccupied, though his clothes were found in the room. His body was found on Friday, in the "agoon, in only two feet of water. The verdict was, " That he was found drowned, and that he was insane at the time of his death." During an argument in a case in the Resident Magistrate's Court at the Thames, it was said by Mr Tyler that the landlord of an inn was bound to take in anybody as a guest, providing he waa notdrank^ or disorderly, or suffering from contagious disease. The question of " respectability" did not arise. A man might be drunk and respectable also. He (Mr Tyler) had seen the Duke of Edinburgh drunk, yet the Court would not say the Duke was not respectable. The Magistrate said he had never seen the Duke of Edinburgh drunk, but if he had seen him drunk he should say he was not respectable at that time. A terrible and fatal accident has occurred on the Papakaio Plain, in the % Oamaru district, to a man named James Grafton, in the employ of Mr Donald Borne, fanner, j Grafton was working as ploughman for Mr Borrie on some land about half a mile from the house of the latter, and was a steady, sober man. At about 6 p.m. of theday in question] one of the horses belonging to the plough team galloped up to' the stables dragging the body of Grafton, one of whose legs was entangled in the trace chain. Being unable to enter the stable/ the horse galloped on along the fence, kicking the body as it went. A Mr Ferguson went in pursuit of the horse and arrested its progress, when it was found that the body was terribly mutilated, and all the clothing torn off except the boots and drawers. At the Resident Magistrate's Court, at Hokitika, on Friday, before Messrs Tabart and Patten, Andrew Cumming appeared to an information laid by the Receiver of Land Revenue, charging him that he had failed to take and pay for a certain crown grant Defendant stated that he had sold the sections referred to some four and a half years ago; that at that time there were no crown grants ; that he had properly transferred hi» license #to occupy ; and that he had now no beneficial interest whatever in the land. The Bench said tbere was no alternative but to give judgment against defendant, though it was certainly a hard case. Defendant, how', ever, could keep possession of the crown grant against the persons now owning the land, wno could not legally deal with it while defendant held the ;grant. Judgment for L 3 4s, with 11s Gd costs. A programme of races to be held at Nelson has been published. As to the probable character of the races the Examiner says : — "Tbere is good reason to expect that the meeting will be one of the best we have had; for many years. The complaint of the races being got up for two stables will certainly not hold on this occasion, and we have the promise of unusually large fields. We have seen a telegram from Greymouth which states that all the principal horses engaged at the meeting there next week— Flying Jib, Peeress, Misfortune, Black Eagle, Lacenfeed, Sailor, Ronald, and others— will enter for Nelson, aud we have seen another, received

from Mr Walters, saying that he will be here with, his two formidable mares. We have also the promise of three or four horses|from Wanganui, and it is highly probable that two or three young horses may be sent from Marlborough. Although the Hednesford stable is no more, Waimea West will not be unrepresented, so there is every prospect of a highly successful meetidg." A child has died in Nelson from the bite of a large brown and red speckled spider. The child, about a month old, had been taken into a hop garden by its mother, it being wrapped up in a shawl ; after leaving the garden the child suddenly shrieked, and- on the shawl being removed a large spider was found near its hand ; a few hours afterwards its arm swelled, breathing became uneasy, and it otherwise showed symptoms of having been bitten by something poisonous. Notwithstanding all the care, medical and otherwise, bestowed upon it, the poor infant died about three da^-s afterwards, the symptoms of blood poisoning being very apparent. At the dinner in Wellington on St. Patrick's Day, his Excellency the Governor, Sir G. Bowen, in reply to the toast of his health, said : — He could assure them that it was with, the greatest pleasure that he had accepted their invitation, not in. his official capacity,- but simply as an Irish gentleman. At the same time, lie feared that he was not quite the real thing, for he had been born of English parents, and in what the Chairman and others from the sunny south would term the black north. Still, even that gave him some pretext for being there, and he knew from experience that the most frivolous pretexts were urged as a claim for admission to St. Patrick's dinners. On one occasion, at Oxfoid, when he was one of the stewards, the Marquis of Blandford, son of the Duke of Marlborough, applied for a ticket. He said to the Marquis, " Surely' you don't pretend the Churchills are Irish ;" and after a most diligent cross-examination, the Marquis's claim seemed to resolve itself into the fact that his mother, the late Duchess, had been very fond of Irish stew. Looking round now, however, and seeing the number of sturdy John Bulls and canny Scots present, he Jthought that perhaps a fondness for Irish whisky had on the present occasion been admitted as a sufficient plea for being present. His Excellency then referred to the large number of distinguished Irishmen who governed, and who had governed the various British Colonies and dependencies, and concluded by urging that in a young country like this, Englishmen, Irishmen, Scotchmen, should all be proud of their common British nationality, leaving behind them all religious animosities and party factions.