Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1239, 19 July 1872, Page 2

The second anniversary, entertainment of the Greymouth Town Band takes place at the Volunteer Hall this evening. As already mentioned, Miss Stephenson and Mr Burford reciprocate the courtesy extended to them by the Band during their dramatic performances, and several amateurs are also to take part in the entertainment. A public meeting is to be. held at Ahauro, this evening, to take Mr Harrison's recommendations into consideration. Circulars, | setting forth the objects of the meeting and inviting co-operation, have been forwarded to the most influential residents of air the surrounding districts. . A lad named Richard Letcher, son of Mr ! It. Letcher, Try-again Terrace, Nelson Creek, had an almost miraculous escape from serious if not fatal injury at Nelson Creek recently. He was riding a horse from his father's house to a place where the animal was usually turned out to graze. He had to pass among a number of old shafts, and when rounding one of them the surface gave way, letting the horse down tail foremost a distance of about 50ft perpendicular. The boy savdd himself by clinging to the scrub and roots about the top of the shaft. The horse was killed. On Monday last such was the rapidity in the rise of the river that, according to the statement of a geutleman who came from the Ahaura that afternoon, ' it followed him like a wave. Luckily for the town of Greymouth the melting of the snow was confined to the vicinity of the Grey proper, and long before the lower portions or the main river had felt the influence of the 1 "atmospheric change, the tipper portions and branches had discharged their contents. Much of the previously lying snow was thus disposed of, and we are thus rid of part of what must have come to us in future floods. Some petty thieves have lately been exercising their craft at night in the less,frequented parts of the town and suburbs, and have so far -been enabled to do so without detection on account of the scarcity of population in their scenes of operations. On one evening during this week the landlord of a well known hotel was deprived of the contents of his till through the operation of one of these night-hawks, and although urgent appeals for police were, made and cries for help resounded through the evening stillness, no help was at the moment available, and the rather bold thief got clear off With his booty. The death of Dr Matthew's, an old resident of Stafford Town, is announced. Ho had been for some time in a low state of health. The Resident Magistrate's and Warden's Courts will, until further notice, be held at No; Town, monthly instead of fortnightly, as heretofore. The next sitting of the Court will take place on the 12th August. Before the Resident Magistrate, yesterday, a man namedßobert M'Cready was brought up 'charged with having committed a violent assault on Ann Johanna Sheedy and a person named Oust. In both cases the assaults had been of a brutal character, and the woman was greatly disfigured. The defendant's excuse was that he had been drunk at the time, and oblivious as to- the character of his conduct. It appeared that the same defendant had been several times before the Court for similar conduct, and the Magistrate considered that the circumstances justitled a severe punishment, both as a warning to the defendant and to others disposed to molest and attack people residing in remote situations. For the assault on the woman he was sentenced to a month's hard labor, and for the other assault he was ordered to be imprisoned fora week, on failing to pay a find of 20s and costs. For another complaint of assault, one Callan was'^fined 10s and costs. In two small debt cases, Hamilton, v . Cameron and the same v Freeman, judgment went by default for L 7 14s 3d and L 3 Is 2d respectively. • : . ! . At a recent sitting of a Warden's Court in the country, a matter of fact individual applied for an extended sluicing claim. The questions usual in such cases were put to the applicant to test the bona fides of the application. The Warden, wishing to learn of what description the proposed workings would be, whether ground or box-sluicing, asked the applicant "How he intended working the ground ?" "With water, sir." The Warden: "Ye 3, it is generally understood water is necessary during sluicing operations, but in what manner do you pur* pose working this claim if it is granted to you?" Applicant: "With a pick, sir." The application was granted without further parley. " The Otago Daily Times understands that the General Government have requested Mr Thomas Calcutt to proceed South and purchase the whole. of the land required for the Inyercargill and Mataura Railway Line, in view of an. early commencement of the works. The Hokitika Amateur Vocaland Dramatic Club intend giving an entertainment at the Duke of Edinburgh Theatre, tj on Monday evening, for the benefit of the widow and children of the late Mr Ridley Little. The Club will be assisted on the occasion by Mrs Hilton, and Messrs Bromley, Hilton, and Morgan, who are now giving entertainments in Hokitika at an institution named "The Varieties." In the County Council yesterday,, the Chairman intended to move — "That the Council go into Committee to consider what steps should be taken to effect the necessary

change in the administration of the County ofWestland." Am immense tiger shark, 15ft long, has been captured a few days ago at the Kaikoura; the girth of its carcase was as great as that of a horte. j Sawn timber is being cut at Woodlands, Southland, at the low rate of 5s per 100 ft, and is delivered at the Wyndham and Mimibau fromVthe same .place; at 8s to 9s per looft, ■'.■■••] Mr Luscombe Searell has been appointed as organist to the Durham street Wesleyan Chapel, Christchurch. . j The interproviricial race to be rowed next , season on Wellington waters promises to be a • great success. Upwards of L4OO has been already subscribed. '1 It is said, respecting the Nelson and Fox- : hill Railway, that the working plans ate' nearly complete. The first draft of these were some time since submitted to the Colonial Engirieer-iri-Chief, and within a few : days will be in Wellington. Two offers to erect paper-mills in Dunedin have been made to the Government— one by Mr Steel, bookseller, the other by Mr Edward M'Glashan. The episcopal residence, in Dunedin, for Bishop Nevill is fast advancing towards completion, and will be entirely hnished in two or three months; Pleuro-pneuinonia is said to be spreading at the .in the Marlborough Pro- • vince. • The journeymen shoemakers of Auckland have formed themselves into a society, with a view to taking steps to better their condition. The Presbytery of Canterbury held its quarterly meeting at Christchurch, last Thursday, by adjournment from the previous day. Sederant— Rev. W. S. M'Gowan (Moderator), C. Fraser, A, F. Douglas, and Mr J. D. Macpherson (Presbytery clerk).- The minutes of previous meetings were read and confirmed. The consideration of a letter from the Rev. Joshua M'lntosh, of Grey mouth, was delayed, pending inquiries into facts, till next meeting. It was iutimated that the Rev. Mr Murray had arrived in Dunedin, and might be expected in a few days. Communications from Timaru and Hokitika respecting pulpit supply were read and considered, but as the Presbytery were unable to comply with their request at present, the matter was delayed. Mr Fraser gave notice of overture to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, anent the erection of a Provincial Synod for Canterbury and Westland, as aUaon the subject of the establishment of a theplpgical hall. A late Wangariui paper says that Messrs M'Donnell, Buller, Blair, and the other members of their prospecting party reached town last Friday, after having undergone great favigue and some privations in "their attempt to prospect the Tuhua country. The party, so far as we can learn, found the color in more than one locality visited by them during their absence, but owing to the lateness of their return, and their being unprepared to give a detailed account of their proceedings since leaving town, we are unable to give our readers as full an account of what has transpired as we could desire. From the little we have been able to gather from different members of the party, we are inclined to the belief that their efforts have not been unsuccessful ; although it may turn out that they have not actually discovered a payable gold field, still we are of opinion that they met with an amount of sudcess which will encourage ihem to make another examination of the Tuhua country, when the fine weather sets in agaift ' The North-west Settlement is stated by a West Australian paper to have been ravaged by a fearful hurricauo, and nearly swept from the map of Australasia. So terrific was the gale at one time that people had to crawl on their hands and Knees for shelter. All the buildings in Reebourne were destroyed. The total loss is estimated at L 20.000. There were some hair-breadth escapes, that of a MrM'Leod being the most wonderful. He was blown towards the river, then overflowing its banks. He lay flat, and clutched the ground with his hands and toes, but was driven to the river, which at last was within a few feet of him . He is a strong-built young I man, otherwise he must have perished ; once in the river nothing could have saved him. The following particulars respecting the meeting at Leithfield, mentioned in our telegrams, are published in the Press of !ast Friday :— ".'July 11— A-publio ' meeting was held here this evening. The Superintendent, several large runhplders, and Mr J. S. Caverhill, and about 200 peoplewere at the maet-. ing. Resolutions Iti favor of a road to Reefton, via the Waiau and Hanmer Plains, were carried. : A memorial has been drawn up to the Colonial Government, requesting that a direct route be established to Inarigahua from Canterbury in the interests of the sheep and cattle owners. The road would also open tip a large tract of agricultural country. The memorial urges the advantages of getting the produce of . the district to the goldfields. .The road would also increase the profits on the main line of railway through the Middle Island. The memorialists state that they are not opposed at all to the Christchurch and Bokitika road. The memorial was agreed to unanimously, and an influential committee appointed to get it signed." • It is reported that Mr Hill, of the Malvern Hills, not far from Mr Hart's coal-pits, has cut a seam of coal 7ft wide in his sinking, and that he hopes by spring to be able to supply 'coal to the public. The 'shares for-^the proposed new club in Christchurch are meeting with : great favor, quite 300 having been applied for. An industry wforthy of notice has been initiated by Highland settlers at Saddle Hill, near Dunedin, viz., the manufacture of hives. | The only materials employed are tussockgrass, the ever-handy flax, and a wooden bodkin. The grass is coiled, with strips, of flax, into the shape of a cone, capable of containing 601 b of honey. From the. warmth • and comfort the bees experience, they are much more active in culling honey. Persons who have used them affirm tlut one hive of this kind is worth three boxes, both for quantity and quality of honey. A man,, can make one a day with ease, and it sells for seven shillings. ; The following paragraph, cut from a Hobart Town paper, should encourage the Fish Committees of all, Acclimatisation Societies to the iitmopt exertions in pisciculture : — Mr Weave, of Hobart Town, recently caught a splendid basket of English brown trout in the Derwent, near the Plenty. Besides some smaller trout, there were six weighing together upwards ot 301b — as one of these weighed only 241 b, the other five weighed 281 b. Of those, one inmost beautiful condition, weighed 81b lOoz. These trout were the produce of one day's fishing from 11 a-ni, and of the next day's up to that hour. '_ At the conclusion of the trial of William Antill, of Christchnrch, for bigamy, on the 3rd instant, his Honor Mr Justice G reason dismisHed.the prisoner in the following man-" ncr :- -Prisoner^ although you have been acqu : .uted, I must say that you are morally guiby of a very high crime, and, for my part, I should be very glad if you could be brought to justice. This is a vory_ serious crime, and it you* had been convicted. I should have given you a very heavy punishment. It is certainly owing to no merits of yours that you have been acquitted. You are now, discharged. •