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Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1217, 22 June 1872, Page 2

We are clad to say tbat the County En» gineer paid a visit to the New River district this week, and inspected the track from Maori Creek to German Gully, with a view to its being at'once surveyed, and tenders called for ita construction. This is one of the works sanctioned by the County Council, for which payment is to be made in land. It is said that there will be no difficulty in getting it done on those terms. Two of the West Coast members of the Nelson Provincial Council— Messrs A. Reid and Guinness— are passengers by the Charles Edward for this port. The Ajax Company will hold a meeting this evening at Kilgour's Hotel, when important business will be brought forward. A ball was given this week at Marsden, and was, we are informed, a great success. A large number of persons attended, and the funds of the institution are likely to receive substantial benefit from the entertainment. We are glad to hear that the lease of the Energetic Company at Inangahu has been granted, and that_ active operations will be continued and efficient machinery very shortly be placed on the ground. The meeting of the local Board of Health, fixed for yesterday, was adjourned in consequence of the necessary absence of Mr Bevell on official duty. One of the blank grouse imported to Wellington by Mr Graf is dead. Hhe other three, a cock and two hens, are in excellent condition; , The Rockhampton Argus, after describing a narrow escape from firs consequent upon the explosion of a kerosene lamp, says : — " We have frequently stated that a few teaspoonfuls of salt thrown into a tin of kero.sene will effectually prevent the oil from taking light; we have practically proved that such is the case, and we strongly urge upon those who burn kerosene to adopt a very simple remedy. That our wooden buildings will yet many of them be swept away by fire, we thoroughly believe, but it is the duty of all those who occupy them to take every precaution to prevent so far as possible a most greivous certainty." For some time past the burlesque of, Ixion has been in preparation by Mr Burford, MiBS Stephenson, .and company, and, not only on account of the intrinsic value of the piece, but also on account of the curiosity to see how it could be produced in Greymouth, great interest was felt in its plavinß. We need hardly say that the auxiliaries with which it was brought out in London some years ago, could not be procured iv this town, no matter how liberal the management might be, but we can conscientiously say that the result far exceeded expectation, and that the company made one of the greatest, indeed we may say the greatest tit since they have played. We are not »ble to-day to criticise the play iv ietaiJ, though it would well bear it, but must say that the evident care tvith which it has been got up was manifest . "rom the very outset. The mechanical effects irere exceedingly good, and will no doubt be setter after a night or two's using, whilst 1 ;he company were all that could be desired. ; iilisß Stephenson was a charming Ixion, and :he only fault she had was that she was too i

graceful and winning to be even a burlesque male creature. Miss Ashton's impersonation of Juno, especially in the opening chorus, was also exceedingly good, and Miss Folland looked as pretty a Cupid as could be wished. The other lady characters were also excellently filled, and only the inexorable laws of space prevent our doing full justice to them m this issue, Mr Bromley's Minerva was one of the gems of the piece, and that gentleman did ample justice to the part. Mr Thomas's Mercury -was very well rendered, and Jupiter, Ganymede, Bacchus, and Mars were exceedingly good in their respective roles. Altogether, "Ixion" has come exceedingly well out of thefire, and is really thoroughly worthy of a visit. The burlesque will be repeated this evening, and should draw a crowded house. It ran in London for over a hundred nights, and considering the exceedingly creditable manner in which it has been produced, should at least attract here for nights to come. We are glad to say that the house was crowded, and those present fully appreciated the entertainment set before them. The following from the Melbourne Leader " of the Bth instant will be of interest to many in Greymouth:— "lt will be remembered that about a year ago considerable interest was taken in an invention for ascertaining the weight of the contents of a vessel afloat. The patentees were Messrs Roff, Hoffman, andLukey, all of Melbourne. A similar, if not identical invention, has been patented in England by Mr G. Haseltine; Probably he has taken out the patent in the interest of the Victorian inventors ; but in the absence of any notification to that effect the transaction has a piratical look about it. 1 The invention is of value, but it would be more correctly designated as an invention for ascertaining the midships draught of water, which it does, than one for weighing the contents of the ship, which it does not." " Cameo," in the Auckland Weekly News, says that the gold from the Thames cost twice as much to procure as it was worth, and that every ounce of gold yielded at Coromandel has cost LlO. The wife of a country settler, who lately came on a trip to Dunedin without her lord's permission, got into liquor, and then into the look up. She. was duly brought' up at the Mayor's Court, and fined in a small penalty. Her affectionate spouse has expressed his indignation, not at the sentenpe, but at the insufficiency thereof. Writing to a gentleman connected with the police, he says: — " Dear Sir— l see by this day's Daily Times that you have had my wife in charge for drunkenness. I hope the next time you will give her three or six months." The Timaru Herald, of the 12 eh instant, reports another gold discovery made in a somewhat singular manner, and likely to turn out, we fear, just as valuable as other finds of the same kind from similar prospectors. Our contemporary says :— " Our Temuka correspondent says— l have been shown a sample of rough gold, weighing one and a-half grains, which has been tested, and valued as worth L 3 10s par ounce. Mr H. Pratt, of this town, on Monday morning, when cleaning the inside of a goose, found in the gizzard a number of small pieces of gold, weighing as above. The largest piece, I should say, weighs about three-quarters of a grain, and the other pieces are of /-various sizes ; the whole show signs of the action of water, there being no sharp edges. There must evidently be gold in the district, and payable, from the size of the samples. The same journal also says :— There is a party of three men still working on the gold fields at the Waibo, with what success no one can get any information, but as they have been there for some time and are old diggers, it is suspected they are getting gold enough to pay tucker." / A" comparative return of telegrams which have passed through the Department for the quarters ended May 31, 1871 and 1872, has been published. We glean the following figures regarding the increasing use made of the wires :— The number of telegrams forwarded in the quarter for 1871 is 84,278, which compared with the return for the corresponding quarter of 1572 (104,020 messages) shows an increase of 19,742, representing however a comparatively small increase in cash, L 872 6s 6d. The cash returns for both quarteis are :— lB7l, L5BBO 18s j 1872, L 6753 4s 6d. The value of Government telegpatns for the same, quarter is —1871, L3O4S 13s ; 1872, L 3325 0s 6d. ; But there is such a close approximation in the amounts for the last month in both quarters, as compared with the previous, that one is led to the conclusion that this has been the result of restraint put upon, the too indiscriminate use of the wires in the discharge of official duties. The amount for March, 1871, LI 150, and for 1872, L 1169 10s 6d. The Southern Cross of 4th June says :— "On Sunday morning, at one o'clock, Mr Sub-Inspector Bullen was roused from his bed by Mr John "Young and some natives, the latter stating that they had just arrived from Hikutaia to lay an information against Mr Allan M'Caskill, for shooting one of their tribe. According to their account of the occurrence and what led to it, M'Caskill's dogs, it ie said, were in the habit of worrying the native pics. The loud squeaking of the latter animals on Saturday induced three natives, Hone P»ku, Wiremu Karaka, and Ake, to leave whareg to ascertain what was the matter. Hone Paku carried a gum spear. They had not proceeded far ere they met M'Caskill leading a dog with a piece of flax, and carrying a double-barreled gun. The natives charged M'Caskill's dog with the offence against their pigs, and demanded that the animal should be given up to them. This was met by a refusal, and the natives say M'Caskill added, 'Go back, or I'll shoot you.' But they, not heeding the threat, continued to advance, whereupon, they state, M'Caskill levelled his gun, and fired at Hone, and inflicted a slight wound in his right breast ; the charge being a light one was partially checked by the thick woollen shirt worn by Hone. Feeling himself struck, Hone rushed forward to seize the gun, when M'Caskill fired the second barrel, and this tisae with telling effect ; the charge (a heavy one) struck the outside of Hone ? s extended left arm, and, after ploughing a deep furrow in it, passed on and lodged in the jaw and neck, shattering the jaw, and inflicting a ghastly wound. M'Caskill has been arrested.