Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1205, 8 June 1872, Page 2

. The Volunteer Hall last night, notwithstanding the wet weather, was well attended, all things considered. " The Lady of Lyons" was reproduced and went off capitally. A musical melange, as on the last occasion, concluded the entertainment. "The Sentinel," "Hunting a Turtle," and Bromley's Budget of Mirth are announced for this evening. A meeting of the Paroa Road Board was held on Thursday night, but the business transacted was very unimportant. We beneve luairat jar- xjuw.er~ resigned hio seat afc the Board, and that a select committee was appointed to see to the laying off of the proposed main road from Paroa' to Greymouth. A pleasing recognition of the services of Bro. W, Hill, P. G., by the members of the Loyal Hand of Friendship Lodge, M. J.1.0.0.F., took place on Thursday evening last, in the lodge room at Gilmer's Hotel. Mr Hill was most energetic in forming the lodge in question, and since then has devoted himself most assiduously to forwarding its interests by all means in his power. It was therefore determined to offer him a token of respect in the shape of an Oddfellows' jewel. The presentation took place on the above day, and was made by Bro. J. P. Taylor, G.M. After the ceremony, an adjournment for refreshment was made, and on business being resumed Mr Hill expressed his acknowledgments, returning thanks in a very feeling speech. There were over fifty members of the order, including visitors, present. The jewel in question is very handsome, and its workmanship most finished. In its front are devices emblematical of the brdcr, surrounded by the words Friendship, Love, and Truth, and the whole encircled with a wreath of laureL On the back is the following inscription — " Presented to Bro. W. Hill, P.G., by the members of the Loyal Hand of Friendship Lodge, No. 5831, M.U.1.0.0.F. Greymouth, N.Z., 1872." An old resident of the Grey Valley, Mr William Hughes, farmer, carrier, of Totara Flat, has recently received intelligence of a sad bereavement in the death, through violent accident in Melbourne, of his son, Mr, Joseph Daggaa Hughes, aged, 28 years. Mr Hugdes, jun., was a fine young man, a native of Melbourne— he was preparing to rejoin his father when he met his death. Mucli sympathy is felt for the old man in hia trouble. 1 The Press is informed that a petition is being numerously signed. in Eaiapoi against trains running on the Northern line upon Sundays. The Auckland correspondent of the Lyttelton Times says :-"Mr Yogel has received a magnificent series of engravings representing scenes in America. It is said that they were presented by the Government of the United States, and were forwarded per last mail, " AtFoxton, there died, at an advanced age, William Chapman, a miserable miser, worth L 50,000. which.he has left to an illegitimate son of his. His last wish was that his stick might be put in his coffin, that he might give " Old Stratford" a thrashing with it when he meb with him, because he disappointed him of buying some land years ago ! The usual meeting of the Borough Council was held last night at tho Town-hall. Present : His Worship the Mayor, E. Wickes, Esq., Councillors Smith, Macgregor, Purccll, and Moore. — The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. — A letter was received from Mr Perkins regarding a debt due to him for legal proceedings incurt ed some years ago regarding the Paroa Road Board, which he considered outside of his regular duties as Borough Council solicitor. Referred to the Finance Committee to report. — Permission was granted to Mr Rudd to erect a verandah in front of his shop. — Several residents Objected to the destruction of the' footpath by drays near Mount street. It was ordered that the footpath be repaired, and all parties driving on the path be summoned in accordance with the law.— The Town Clerk reported that in future Messrs Scott and Wilkinson would be the agents for the insurance of the Townhall. ~ A letter was read from several of the residents in Hospital-street regarding the difficulty of approachiug the footpath from Herbert street, owing to the backing up of water at Mr Drew's garden. They 'offered to do the work and take the Council's bill at twelve months for the amount. Resolved that the work be carried out con- '

sequent upon its not exceeding Lls.— Messrs Miller and Collins asked for a remission of the rates- on their punt, which was refused. —The Town Clerk reported that Mr Thompson, representative of Langland and Go.'s firm, Melbourne, had returned, and offered to give the Council any quantity of lampposts, with all fixings, at L 6 each. Resolved that the Council give an order to Mr Thompson for ten lamp-posts, at the price named. — Mr Macgregor moved that LG9 be spent on bills at six and 12 months for the purpose of Riling up a hole and making Leonard street, and that tenders be invited for forming the same upon the Town Clerk receiving a guarantee from the inhabitants to provide the cash for payment of the work. Carried. —Mr Moore moved that the Tow ji Clerk be instructed to request the County Chairmr i, in the event of his giving effect to the petition for the re-distribution of wards, that he will allot the present members as follows : — East Ward— Councillors Kennedy, Smith, and Woolcock ; Middle Ward — Councillors Wickes, Macgregor, and Purceli ; West Ward— Councillors Moore, Dupre, and Coates . The Council then adjourned. The Otago Government seems to patronise the legal profession tolerably extensively. On the motion of a member of the Provincial Council, lately, a return has been prepared showing all the law expenses incurred by the Provincial Government for the three years ending on the 31st March last. The total for the three years, including the Provincial Solicitor's salary during that period, is L 4012 10s scl. Mr Bachelder and Mr Logan arrived in Auckland by the Nebraska, bringing with them a diorama, painted by the best artists in New York, representing the voyage from Liverpool to Now York ; the- overland railway route from New York to San Francisco; from "that city to Honolulu, and from thence on to Auckland and on to Melbourne. Every scene and every incident connected with the journey from Liverpool by the route mentioned, until it reaches Melbourne, has been copied with regard to strictest accuracy from photographs taken for the, express object of painting the diorama. It is said that over L3OOO has been expended on this very elaborate scenic representation of the through route from the old world to the new. The diorama will shortly visit the West Coast. The locally celebrated cases of Mackley v Groom, i 9 to come on for hearing again at the Resident Magistrate's. Court, at Ahaura, on Monday, 10th June. " The lawsuit originated, iv an action tried before the Resident Magistrate aj; Ahaura, some months ago for . the value of a horse, the property of the plaintiff, which was lost or killed while in the possession of the defendant. The defence was that the defendant exercised every care and that the horse was not lost through negligence. The magistrate gave judgment for the plaintiff with costs, thus laying it down as it were that if a person borrows or hires a horse he must return or pay for it under any circumstances, for it was not alleged that the defendant lost the horse through wilful negligence. The defendant, Groom, appealed, and the case was again heard before Judge Richmond, at Hokitika. The decision of the lower Court was reversed, und theJudgeinan elaborate judgment sent the case for rehearing to the Magistrate's Court. There is great interest excited as to the result, both parties being so well-known, but whichever way it goes it will be a dear " old moke " to somebody before the last is heard of it. It would be as profitable to let the " crock " rest in peace. The manner in which the Provincial Government of Otago has allowed a large block of vtiluahlft lami, ominontij- ouitable for agricultural purposes, and which might have l»oon txansformed into a flourishing settloment, to pass into the hands of the greatest of all the cormorant land-jobbers, should prove a warning to the colonists of New Zealand to prevent such an occurrence 1 again, in any part of either island. Clark's success has emboldened other speculators to attempt emulation, and we hear of a gentleman resident in Canterbury, and nearly connected with a Government official of high standing, being now engaged in an attempt to secure for himself a tract of country in the NortL island even larger and more valuable than the Moa block. This land is in the immediate vicinity of Tuhua, where gold is alleged to have been discovered, and where, in fact, it is absolutely known to exist in larger or smaller quantities over a large extent ol country. This block, knnown as Muni Mutu, is of great extent, rich and level, supplied with timber, and affording every facility for prosperous settlement. The Wellington Evening Post says ;- What a lone; time it has taken Mr Brogden to make up his mind about repudiating the statements which the Wahatip Mail pnt into his mouth respecting 1 the manner in which he had been treated by the Ministry. He was hi Dunedin when the erroneous report was reprinted there, yet he said nothing publicly about it; he was in Christchurch the very day on which the Press copied it, and yet he made no sign, and now, when it is almost forgotten, he gets the Independent to deny its correctness. Does this mean that matters are beginning to be more pleasant between the Government and the contractors ? If so, there may be a prospect of a few miles of railway being constructed before the second instalment of the loan has been spent after the manner of the first. Looking back to Mr Brogden's speech, as reported by the Wakatip Mail, we find one passage which certainly looks strange. He is made to say, twice over, that "Mr Yogel had behaved most honorably," when the rest of the speech endeavors to make out the contrary. : . The usual Resident Magistrate's and Wardens's Courts ' were held at Ahaura, on Thursday, 3rd instant, before C- Whitefoord, Esq., .R.M. Margaret Carling, a barmaid, sued James Aldridge, a publican at Napoleon, for wages amounting to L 27. A verdict was given for the plaintiff with costs, and a distress warrant was issued. A miner named Rada sued another, Prendergast, for lGs. The plaintiff did not appear, and the case was struck out. The defendant applied for his costs and obtained a distress warrant to recover them. In this case the man who sued for lGs will have to pay about 1.3 for his fondness for litigation before he gets clear of the case. M'Laughlin v. O'Hara was a claim of L 8 2s 6d, for goods supplied at Napoleon. Judgment was given for the plaintiff, with costs. In the Warden's Court, Patrick Kane and party complained against Edward Murphy, Peter M'Mahon and party for injury to a tunnel at Duffer Creek, to the loss of the complainants, besides placing them in bodily fear. They further complained that by reason of the defendants' acts the tunnel of the complainants fell in, causing damage to the amount' of LlO, and they claimed this sum as damages. The parties are working adjoining claims, and the alleged injury complained of consisted in the defendants, who were working in a lower level, driving their tunnel under that of the complainants and undermining it, whereby it fell in. It was shown that from the peculiar nature of the . workings, the parties had frequently to make arrangements so that they could work amicably together, to avoid a, deadlock, but the falling in of the tunnel brought matters to an issue. A deal of evidence was taken, and the Warden gave judgment for the complainants for the amount of damages claimed with costs, but made an order inequity, that if the defendants by a fixed time paid the complainants L4O, the tunnel would be handed over to them, but the complainants

were still to retain the right of drainage throughout the workings. Mr Staite for the complainants; Mr Peter M'Mahon conducted the case of his party, and the Warden warmly complimented him on the intelligent and impartial manner m which he carried on the case. Mr Staite concurred. Gennezeni and party v. Clarke and party was a dispute about drainage at Napoleon, It appeared that the plaiutiffs complained long before they were hurt, and thafc'tlie danger likely to accrue to them was altogether 3i prospective. Judgment for the defendants with L 3 costs. We were Under the impression that the native Kereopa was recently hanged for the murder of the Rev Mr Volkner. There must be more scoundrels of the same name abroad in the North Island, when we see the following in the Wahganui Evening Herald: — " The scoundrel "Kereopa, who is still moving about town, has just been taken under the protection of Major Turner, the Commander of the district, who gave him a pass to go on to the Waitotara. to give one of the most diabolical of the cannibals who swept; the Waitotara district in 186S, who killed Sergeant Menzies and mutilated his body, liberty to return among the settlers^ is an offence that would, justly require the commander of a district to be brought before a court martial, formed of the men who had suffered by the late rebellion on this coast. We suggest that the settlers apprehend this Kereopa, -and send him back into town, tied to one of their drays, and labelled ' care of . Major Turner.' We have given the Waitotara settlers timely warning — the issue is in their own hands. In a subsequent issue the same paper states that Mr Worgan has cancelled Major Turner's passes to Kereopa and other natives to go on to the Waitorara block, and ordered them at their peril not to go amongst the settlers at the Waitotara, and that Major Turner gave these passes to the natives to search for and turn the settlers' horses off land which they alleged was theirs, but which belongs to the Government." ■