THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 1872.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1159, 16 April 1872, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 1872.

fie nomination of a successor to Mr Wilkie, as member of the Nelson Provincial Council, is now fixed for Tuesday, the 23rd inst, and the polling, if polling is required, will take place on the 27th inst. As the Council meets on the 30th there will scarcely be time for the new member to reach Nelson in time for the opening of the session, but the delay is solely due to the want of an electoral roll, which is now being prepared. "They seem to do strange things at the Ahaura," said the Judge in the District Court, yesterday. The cause of the expression was a statement made by a bankrupt (James Bergin) that he had given a bill of sale over his hotel for less than L7O, while the value of the property was L3OO ; that as he could not pay when called upon he was lodged in Cobden gaol at the suit of Johnston ; and that while there the Warden allowed his (Bergin's) wife to be sued by the sauie person, ami judgment given against her, so that she with her children would have been turned out of house and home had not the neighbors cried "shame" on the prosecutor, and thereby enabled the family to retain a home. The case was adjourned, the Judge remarking that he would be very happy to have the attendance in Court of Mr Johnston. It is also probable that the Warden will be called to prove the facts of the case as they occurred in Court at the Ahaura. Much complaint is made as to the manner in which the work of repairing the Arney street bridge is being carried out by the Borough Council, or on behalf of the L'orough Councfl. The complaint is net so

muck as to the execution of the work, as to the time which the work has. occupied. It was undoubtedly one of the first works which the officers of the Corporation should •have undertaken, in repairing damages by the recent flood; yet it was the last. And the disposition seems to be to " prolong the agony" of mail contractors and the public generally by making a work extend over months which, without reference to weeks, might have been completed in a few days. If the Clerk to the Borough Council, or the Engineer ior the Borough Council, havo any professional reputation to maintain, they might easily maintain it by exhibiting more energy in promoting a work which is necessary for the convenience of the whole comrnuuity. Verb, sap. The Disti-ict Court sits this morning at 10 o'clock, when the case of Drury v Oooney, Kennedy, and others will be resumed. Mr Chamberlain, who was one of the Westland representatives in the Colonial rifle matches, returned to Greymouth yesterday. Mr Chamberlain took a very fair position as a shot in several of the matches, but none of the Westland men was equal to their ordinary practice, and for this year none of the higher honors comes to the County. At sunset yesterday there was a peculiar and picturesque phenomenon seen at sea, within a few miles of the outflow of the G-rey. What seemed to be the smoke of a steamer gradually grew in dimensions and in appearance until it assumed the semblance of what it was — a waterspout. It — the phenomenon.— travelled southward at a rapid rate, and, seen by the light of the setting sun, it was one of the most picturesque sights that have been presented to local observers for some time, though they have recently had experience of floods, fires, and whirl-winds. It approached so close to the shore that there was some expectation of it proving another calamity to Greymouth, but it was exhausted as it got into shallow water, and a heavy shower by which it was succeeded drove the majority of spectators indoors. A similar sight was noticed by a few on Sunday evening, and wo observe by papers from other places that similar phenomena have not been uncommon — a "splendid waterspout " having been seen off Wanganui I a few days ago. Some excellent quartz specimens have been brought to Westport from the prospectors' claim at. Larry's Creek. They were taken by Potter and Walsh's party, the prospectors, from the face of the reef, and give unmistakeable indications of the rich, ness of the claim. One large piece of quartz from the claim, says the Time?, tvas broken in the store of Messrs Bailie a»d Humphrey on Wednesday last, and the fragments of stone, which filled an ordinary tin dish, contained gold visible on all sides and intersecting the numerous veina which ran in all directions throughout it. The choiceat specimens were soon pounced upon by those who were present when the piece was broken, but had it passed through a mortar ! and crucible, we have no hesitation in saying it contained several pennyweights of gold. If, as is reported, this specimen can be taken as an indication of the average run of gold throughout the claim, all we need say is that the shareholders may, if they choose, • acquaint their "friends at home" of their likelihood to visit them after a few crushings. j The members of the Star Comique Company, otherwise known as the American Minstrels, gave their first entertainment here in the Volunteer Hall last evening. ! Considering the heavy fall of rain which i poured down all day, the house was ! filled in a manner that mu,«t be highly satisfactory to the company. With the exception of the front seats, the hall was well crowded. The entertainment is of that mixed order so difficult to describe, being a medley of comic singing, very good musical perform- • ances, and nigger impersonations, interspersed with sentimental songs sung by one of the best tenors that has ever visited Greymouth. All were well received by the audience, and applause was abundant. During the evening Mr O'Neil announced that the company would appear for two nights more, after Avhich they are under an engagement to reappear in Hokitika. We understand that arrangements arc being made for a running-match between MiManning and one of the Twohills. If the challenge is accepted, it is likely that the match will take place in about three weeks from this date. Tenders for the fencing of the Cobden cemetery were recently called for by the Nelson Government, but the work of enclosing the ground has not yet been commenced. It is high time that this were done. For many months past there has been free ingress and egress to the cattle which are kept in that vicinity, and the condition of the cemetery is anything but creditable. When the requisite repairs are effected, if they are ever to bo effected, it would be well if the Government would for the future see to the maintenance of the fercing from time to time, instead of allowing it to fall into a disgraceful state of disrepair, as has hitherto been their habit. The portion of the San Francisco mails which was forwarded from Chrislchurch to Greymouth by special express consisted exclusively of letters, and we are as yet [without details of English and American events referred to in the telegrams. The newspapers received by the mail will probably be brought on from Nelson by the steamer Kennedy. William Beattie, a miner, is reported by the West Coast Times to have been killed at the Eight- Mile on Saturday last. Deceased and two of his mates— one of them being his brother — were in the act of filling a truck in the face of their sluicing claim, when a tree fell from the top of the face and knocked the three of them down. The other two men quickly extricated themselves, but deceased was held down by a portion of the trunk of the tree, which had apparently struck him on his back . He was got out as quickly as possible, but he was quite dead. An Otago contemporary states that Sir David Monro has consented to allow himself to be placed in nomination as a candidate for the representation of the Waikouaiti district in the General Assembly, vacant through the resignation of Mr G. M 'Lean. The contest, it is said, will be between two local candidates — Messrs Preston and Hutcheson. The- West port Times states that the Nelson Board of Education has resolved upon granting a subsidy of L5O per annum to the Keefton school, subject to the approval of the Inspector and the rules of the Board. The General Government has established an immigration office at the Custom House in DuneJln, and Mr Colin Allan has been appointed Immigration Officer. There are already two candidates in the field for the representation of the Waikouaiti district in the General Assembly, vacated by the resiguation of Mr George M 'Lean, viz., Mr John Cargill and Mr W . H. Cutten. During the proceedings in the District Court, yesterday, the Judge took several occasions to remark upon the inaccurate and generally careless manner in which the statements of accounts were made out. He said he had noticed that in this district, if a bankrupt could fill up a few sheets of foolscap with figures, ho imagined that he could go straight through the Court. It was a great mistake, as these accounts must be made out accurate in every particular, and if they were not f:o, they would be scut back for amendment. It also appeared that Beveral

bankrupts had signed their papers without, making themselves thoroughly acquainted, with their contents, relying upon the in-structions-they Km giy;eu. to the clerks of their solicitors'^'., and wheii any transparent error was discovered in Court, throwing the ' blame upon the unfortunate clerk. His ■ Honor said that this could not be permitted. Every bankrupt was responsible for hit; schedule aa filed, and towhich he had sworn, i and it would not do to attempt to cast tho blame upon the solicitor's clerk. The bankrupt must take the whole responsibility when he came into Court, seeing that he had sworn to the papers filed as an accurate statement of his accounts. - ; An inquest has been held at Hokitika as to the death of Paul Millier, a well-known and eccentric gatherer of old bottles. The verdict of the jury was that he died from the effects of want and exposure previous to his admission to gaol, to which, out of mercy, he had been sent: as a vagrant. AcDDTding to a correspondent of the Nelson Mail, who, we presume, is writing seriously O.i a serious subject", the publicans eff that place intend to reduce the price of beer to 2d per glass. As Captain Wales, of Otago, has succeeded in winning the Champion Belt twice, it now becomes his private property. The total score of Captain Wales throughout the series of eight matches which constitute the aggregate score for the championship is 320. Corporal Carter, of Wellington, takes the National Rifle Association Medal and L3O, with a total score of 314. Private Hoskins, of Auckland, silver medal and L3O, with a total score of 30G ; Lieutenant Muir, Otago, silver medal and L 25, total score 301 ; and Sergeant Taylor, Otago, silver medal and L2O, with a score of 300. At a meeting of the Presbytery of Canterbury, an applicatioxi fiom the kirk session of Hokitika, for pulpit supply during the month of May was considered, and the wants of the congregation at Ross ha\ing also been referred to, the Presbytery resolved that the Revs C. Fraser and W. Hogg be appointed to supply respectively the congregations of Hokitika and .Ross for that month. It was understood that, should anything prevent Mr Hogg from supplying the Ross congregation, he shall supply the Hokitika pulpit instead of Mr Fraser. The Geelong Advertiser of the 13th instant has the following paragraph respecting the Nelson robbery : — " A private letter from Melbourne received in Geelong refers to an offer having been made to the Government by some person to disclose the locality where a portion of the gold stolen from the ship Nelson many years ago has been planted, on. condition of his receiving one-fourth of its value. Action appears to have been taken in the matter, as one of the shippers of a portion of it has been requested to attend at the Melbourne City Police Court do sign a document giving his assent to an arrangement. " Some of the Picton fishermen had a good haul lately. The fish they ' caught turned out to be the veritable mackerel— not the fish known as horse or New Zealand mackerel, but the genuine mackerel, such as can be seen in Billingsgate any time dur'ng the season. The fish were very large, weighing as much as seven or eight pounds each, and the quantity was large also. Whether the fish is rare in New Zealand or not, such a haul of large and heavy mackerel has never before been made in Picton, and it adds another argument to those who contend that fishing as a trade, followed as it should be, would pay well in New Zealand. Recent telegrams reported a sad accident ab Tiniarn. The poor fellow who was killed — Thomas Reilly by name — was one of the hands employed on the stall' of the Government Landing Service, and a portion of his duty consisted in laying the skids on the launching of the cargo boats. At one o'clock, lleilly, with another man, was so employed, the two men having charge of a skid. The trigger being pulled, the heavily-laden cargo boat slid down into the water, and the man working with deceased made a motion to put the centre of the skid directly under the boat's keel. Reilly somehow did not respond, but slipped and fell just as the boat was released. Escape was hopeless, and the boat literally smashed the, poor fellow. Assistance was immediately available, but, on his being picked up, life had fled. The Timaru Herald says : — " We have every reason to believe that Reilly was the same individual who some years since, along^with another man named Hartley, discovered gold in Otago. The deceased *n name, character, physical build, and by common report, was identified with the gold discoverer. For some little time after the discovery the two men kept it quiet, and amassed very considerable sums of money, but through dissipation and recklessness, Reilly, at all events, parted with his money as soon as he made it. He then Avent to the West Coast diggings, where he was knocking about for some time, but not doing any good for himsslf or others. Reilly had only been a few weeks in Timaru when he met with his sudden and frightful death." Mr Robert Shepherd, butcher, Charleston, met with a serious accident on Thursday morning last. While in the act of handing meat out of his cart, the horse suddenly started off, causing Mr Shepherd to fall alongside the cart. Before the horse could be stopped the wheel passed over his right leg, bi caking it below the knee. This is the third time Mr Shepherd has met with an accident with similar result. A Board consisting of Dr Hector, Mr Reid, Assistant Law Officer, and Mr Halcombe, has examined several of the passengers by the ship England, in the Wellington Barracks. Some complaints have been made, but none of a serious character ; and, so far, nothing has been elicited m support of the alleged ill-treatment on the intermediate passage. On the whole, judging from the evidence submitted to the Board, it would appear that the passengers have not fared hadly. A late telegram reported the death, by drowning, of Mr Thomas Janverin, of the Occidental Hotel, Dunedin. Mr Janverin, accompanied by Mr Harris, a gentleman in the employ of Mr Flexman, of Eattray street, left town in a dog-cart for Portobello, and afterwards proceeded to Papanui Inlet. On arriving there, and each having a gun, they attempted to cross an outlet of the bay in quest of snipe, the tide then being out. In a short time afterwards, however, they noticed that it was coming in with, a rapidity that threatened to prevent their reaching the above with safety, unless a retreat were effected very expeditiously. As the ground is of a very swampy nature, their progress was proportionately retarded, and the water, which always rushes in with the force of a mill stream, at length got so far ahead of them, that they were obliged to swim for the shore. Their dogs, as if conscious of danger, attempted to get on Harris's back, as he buffeted witb the waves, and nt last, Janverin, being thoroughly exhausted, cried, "Good-bye, Harris, I can swim no longer ;" and then the poor fellow sank, and was seen no more. Harris fortunately managed to reach the shore in safety. Accompanied by a settler, to whom he related the particulars of the accident, Harris took a boat, and searched during three hours for the body of his friend, but without avail. The deceased was about twenty-three years of age, and had been in tho employment of Mr Walter, of the Occidental Hotel, for nearly ten years. j\ir Janverin's untimely death is regretted by a large circle of friends, with whom his genial character rendered him a universal favorite