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Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1196, 29 May 1872, Page 2

As may be supposed from what we have already said on the subject of short coal supply, the Gas Company have been put to considerable trouble to lighten Greymouth darkness for the last few nights. In their difficulties several of the citizens, who were fortunately possessed of small stocks, have placed them at the disposal of the company, and thus conferred a public benefit. The latest instance was yesterday, when Mr Rowley, clerk of the Bench at Cobden, very kindly lent a ton and a half of the mineral to the company. The loan was a most welcome one, and will enable the manager to tide over a day or two, when it is hoped that the river will be in such a condition as to allow supplies to be brought down. With such warnings, surely the company will in future provide a reserve to meet these emergencies. ' The price of milk has been raised by the dairymen of the district, as will be seen by advertisement in another column. However objectionable to consumers any increased cost o£- .the kind may be, we have reason to believe that the trade in question have substantial grounds for making the advance. It seems that all of them have suffered more or less seriously from the late floods, not only by stock being swept away, but by stores of winter feed going too. The grass on many of the best feeding spots has also been very stunted, owing to the inclement season, and to compensate for it the dairymen must pay dearly for imported cattle feed. Altogether, we think they have saade a good case out for the rise. We have received the prospectus of the promised new journal iv Hokitika, and learn by it that it is proposed to start it with a company under the Limited Liability Act. The amount of capital is set down at LIOOO, in a thousand shares of Ll each, and the title is to be the Westland Free Press. In the document in question it is set forth that the great reason for the necessity of there being a new journal started is that the two existing Hokitika papers are in the hands of one individual, and adds that " the W. F. Press would greatly lesseu the cost of advertising, which is higher in Hokitika than in almost any part of New Zealand, and at the same time the shareholder advertising would regain some of his money out of the profits." How far the latter prospect will be realised we cannot say, aud confess to some degree of incredulity as to the " profits" of the speculation, at the same time surely Hokitika ought to be able to support two papers. Speaking of the roads iv the vicinity of Timaru, the Herald of a recent date says :— " These roads are now simply detestable, especially within a short distance of town, being very much cut up by the constant and heavy traffic passing over them. In the last few days whilst the loads of grain have perceptibly diminished in bulk, the drawing power is seen to augment, and yesterday a bullock team of no less than sixteen bullocks passed through the town to one of the grain stores with an absurdly small load behind it." The New Zealand Herald (Auckland) understands that recent experiments at the Moanatairi battery are likely to effect a revolution in the process of gold-saving. It has long been known that a large per-centage of gold passes off from the ripple tables and is lost, together with quicksilver. The method referred to saves both gold and sil^or Wo are not at liberty u> atute anything further regarding it, as a patent is about to be applied for in the other colonies, but we are aware that the discovery will not be made a monopoly in New Zealand. We have seen a note of the results, and they are remarkable, as well in the saving of the precious metal as in the economy of labor. At the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday, before W. H. Revell, Esq., R.M,, John Easy, charged with being drank, -was «lisraisaed with a caution, it being his first offence. The following civil cases were then disposed of:- Cohen v. Salvin, judgment by default. Duncan M'Lean v. Alexander, claim of L 7 10s, judgment confessed. Alexander v. Cockburn, claim of L 2 3s 9d. The defendant admitted Ll 17s Gd, for which judgment was entered up. Hildebrand and Weber v. Alexander, claim of L2l 10s sd, judgment confessed. Orr and Co v. Alexander, claim of LIS Is 2d, judgment confessed. Bowman v. P. Hardy, a claim of LlB 10s. L99s Gd had been paid into Court, and a set-of lodged for L 9 0s Gd. This was admitted by both parties to be correct, and judgment was recorded accordingly. Crossley v. Simmons : This was an action for the recovery of Ls los, being the balance alleged to bo due on an agreement to purchase a phare in an invention for carrying passengers across rivers in carriages by means of wire ropes. The plaintiff stated that he had been asked by a party of miners to furnish plans for running a waggon across the Grey river on wires. He worked out the idea, made up the measurements, drew out the plans, &c. Afterwards he was speaking about it to Simmons and Boase, both of whom wished to enter into partnership in the concern for the purpose of taking out a patent, and afterwards working it. For the original plans | they both agreed '-.o pay L 7 10s each, and an agreement was drawn up by Mr Perkins, one clause of which was to the effect , that all the expenses of getting out the j patent were to be paid by Simmons and I Boase, but, they were to be repaid out of the first profits of the partnership. Pjaintiff stated that he was to pay LIS for his plans independent of the partnership agreement, an I that this arrangement was made before the defendants agreed to enter into the partnership. Simmons had paid L 2 on account, and Boase had paid the full amount of his fshare. The patent was not taken out, because it was asked for in the names of the three, when they were told that only one could be a patentee. They afterwards fell out as to whether the patent should bo taken out in the name of Crossley or Boase, both of whom claimed the invention, and consequently no further proceedings were taken. For the defence it was argued that this being a partnership concern, the plaintiff

could not Imng hia action in that Court j but even supposing it was an agreement made | before the partnership was entered into, this was an amount to be repaid to Simmons and Boase, under the agreement, out of the first profits of the company. It was also claimed for the defence that the inventor was Boase, and that the plaintiff had only drawii out the plans produced from a sketch shown him by Boase; and according to his instructions. It was also contended that the price of the plans was not mentioned until after the written agreement, of partnership was entered into. -MrSimmons swore the price, was not mentioned for one month after the agreement was made, and tten he said it was exorbitant ; and Mr Boase said it might have been, the night the agreement was signed, or a fortnight or three weeks afterwards, that Crossley said he charged Lls for the plans. Mr Brown, District Surveyor, was called, and proved that Lls was not an exorbitant price for doing all preliminary work, taking out the measurements, and drawing the plans produced. Mr Newton for the defendants, and Mr Perkins for the plaintiff, having addressed the Bench, the Magistrate gave judgment for the amount claimed and coats. In Victoria they can now crush quartz at a profit that will only yield sdwt, and can so treat their tailings as not to lose a pennyweight per ton of pyritous gold. At the Resident Magistrate's Court, A.haura, on Monday, 27th instant, Messra Fox and O'Neill, butchers, at Half -Ounce and Reefton, sued a party of miners at Duffer Creek for ' L3O odd, for meat supplied there. The case excited great interest, because an important point of law was involved in it, and the matter was argued at great length by Messrs Guinness and Staite, who appeared for each party. The defendants came to the plaintiffs, and compromised the debt, as they alleged, for a much smaller amount, and obtained receipts. The plaintiffs' case was that the facts were misrepresented, and that the receipt was obtained through this misrepresentation. This was deuied by the defendant^ and hia Worship reserved his decision. On Tuesday morning the Magistrate gave judgment in the above case for the defendants, with L 6 13s costs. — In the Warden's Court, William Newcome brought an action against David Kingham,for damages for alleged misrepresentation as to the boundaries of a section of agricultural, land at the Haupari, about 20 miles from Ahaura, which. the plaintiff purchased from the defendant. The plaintiff claimed L2OO, and, after a long hearing, a verdict was given for the defendant, with lull costs. In the Caledonian mine at the Thames a ventil»ting-fan . is now in use that can be worked up to 1000 or 1200 revolutions per minute. The blast is so powerful that, recently, a good large dog was blown round by the air forced from it, The Press, of the 21st inst., has the following : — "A rumor was current last evening of the death of William Storey, the well-known jockey. From what we could ascertain, it appears that he was riding a colt belonging to Mr Mallock. The colt becoming unmanageable, he was thrown, and a waggon being immediately behind him, he was unable to recover himself, and the consequence was that he was run over, and killed." The Thames Advertiser does not entertain a very bright view of this Golony as a field for skilled labor. Iv a leader on the European news, our contemporary says : — "The working men of Britain never earned such high wages as they do now, while the hours of labor are materially shortened. With these advantages, it is no wonder that our immigration agents are obliged to address themselves to Scandinavians and Germans. We have no doubt that there are many in these Colonies, especially of the class of skilled artizans, who would materially improve their position by going back to England." " Atticus," dealing with canards, observes: — "It must be hard work to fill the columns of a country newspaper. The readers must have local news, and local news must by hook or by crook be provided for them. Snako stories are all very well iv their way in hot weather, but they won't do in cold. I therefore look with a very lenient eye upon any little indulgence which they occasionally give to their imagination. But I draw the line of inventing murders. It is too bad that our reputatiou in foreign parts should be destroyed by such extravagant romances as that of the wealthy farmer who offered a young woman L3OOO to raurdc her child and then marry his son. A canard to hit the public taste should be probable, which this is note. Could not the journalist to whom I refer adopt the ordinary expedients of his craft, and murder a family in Gipps Land, or enlarge upon an awful case of cannibalism by the aborigines *n JRiveriua ?*'