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Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1242, 23 July 1872, Page 2

We have to remind our readers connected with the Masonic fraternity that the installation of the officers of the Greymouth Lodge will take place at four o'clock this afternoon, in the Lodge-room, Gilmer's Buildings. Brother P.G.M. I.azar arrived in Greymouth last evening, and will be in attendance to conduct the ceremony of installation. Sixteen applications for god mining leases, the majority of which are situated at Larry's» will be heard at the Warden's Court, Reef ton, on Friday next. At the Resident Magistrate's Court yester* day, there were two charges of drunkenness heard, and in each case the delinquent was fined 10s, with the usual alternative. Peter M oiler was charged with three separate offences — abusive language, obscene language, and assault. The complainant was Elizabeth Stanford, whose evidence was corroborated by a young person who described o hutv, ll wh^e dence it appeared that Moller had carried on a systematic course of annoyance for many months, and the specific offences charged were proved. He was fined LI for being abusive,, and LI for being obscene, with the choice of going to prison for a fortnight, and for the assault-he was ordered to be bound over to keep the peace towards all people under penalties. : In Greymouth players of the game of football have not been free from accidents to their extremities, but in Christchurch the game has been attended by more than mere accident. A gentleman who had denuded himself of his coat and vest found his pockets picked and his watch missing. • During a paper-hunt in Canterbury, Mr Murphy, of Moeraki Downs, was thrown from his horse, and was so severely injured that he is not expected to recover. Mr Geb. Oram also fractured his collar-bone. On Friday last Mr W. R Mitchell waited upon Mr Maude, private secretary to the hon. the Resident Minister— Mr Reeves being absent in Wellington— and presented the petition praying for the formation of a road to therßecfton " diggings via the West Coast Road, -Bell Hill, and Ahsiura. Mr Maude promised to tike it to Mr Reeves, at Wellington, when he went up there. \ We have great pleasure, in drawing the especial attention of those whose vision is imperfect to Mr Solomon's optometric treatment. Any visitors to his optical studio will not only be surprised at the novel and curious-looking apparatus (a series of optometers, his own invention) which he uses in his sight-gauging operations, but astonished at the wonderful accuracy with which he ascertains the focus of sight, by a calculn* tion based upon optometric observation?, also a system of his own discovery. Mr Solomon is a qualified optician and delights in his profession, and- we therefore advise all persons afflicted with defective sight to take advantage of bis limited visit here. We notice by the European Mail that two prizes in the annual drawing of the Artunion of London have been won by residents in Greymouth— Messrs Henderson and A. F. Stark. The agents in Greymouth for the Association are Messrs Nanoarrow, Henderson and Co, from whom tickets for next season's drawing can be obtained. The heavy rain of the early part of last week, Bays the Reefton paper, has retarded considerably the road works both on the Saddle and Buller roads. It had been contemplated that the former would have been .in a sufficiently forward state by this to have admitted of horse traffic, but this will be delayed until the end of the ensuing week. The formation of the road, as far as the Mia Mia is complete, and all that now remains to be done is the building of a few culverts. The Wanganui papers report a fall of Bnow on Saturday last, and the formation of thin ice on small pools of water. The coal pits near Clj'de have both corao to grief. Mr Kolt's is swamped, there not being water enough to work the pumps ; and the pit at Cooper's Gully has caved in The inhabitants of Clyde are accordingly obliged to get their coal from Alexandra. Mr Edward Patten, the Collector of Customs at Hokitika, has been appointed Receiver of Land Revenue for the County of Westland. . In connection with this appointment the West Coast Times says:— "We may mention that Mr J. M'Beth, who has been acting here both as Postmaster and Receiver of Land Revenue, has been relieved .from the discharge of the duties appertaining to the offices which he held temporarily only, and will resume his office of Postmaster at Greymouth, We avail ourselves of the op.

portunity, in notifying the change, to bear i testimony to the very efficient manner in i which Mr M'Beth has discharged the duties 1 imposed upon him. We have had many < occasions of noting the zeal and foresight 1 displayed by Mr M'Beth, in availing himself ] of every opportunity which offered to forward < a mail, out of the ordinary routine, and pt ' assisting in every way in his power to render ; the postal department under his charge as 1 effective as was possible." It is scarcely < necessary to Bay that the inhabitants of Greymouth are as much pleased with Mr M'Beth's resumption of his duties as he may be to return to^his oldjsoffice, Mr M'Beth having always proved himself a civil and efficient officer. This satisfaction at Mr M'Beth's return does not derogate in any degree from the favorable estimate which was deservedly formed of the civility and attention of his locum tenem, Mr Andrews. Mr Andrews, who left Greymouth yesterday to fill the position of Chief Clerk at Christchurch, is an experienced officer in the postal service, and in all the positions which he has held, has exhibited that civility to the public in the discharge' of his duties which the public so much approve in the demeanor of officers of the civU service. A misunderstanding seems to have arisen regarding the formation of Road Boards, in the event of a Provincial Council being created qn the West Coast. Our Reefton contemporary seems to have fallen into the general error. He says : — " We notice that at the public meeting held at Greymouth to consider Mr Harrison's proposals, it was held to be desirable that with the Council of the Province should rest the power of estabHshintr Boad Boards wherever necessary. For our own part we prefer the original proposal. Our experience of governing bodies in which the bulk of the representation falls to the boroughs and districts immediately surrounding them goes to show that the outlying settlements are certain suffer; and therefore we should most strongly insist that the power to constitute Boad Boards should not rest alone with the Council, and thitt a fixed proportion of the revenue' locally raised should be returned to the Boards for tho execution of public works in their respective districts." The power of Provincial Councils is simply limited to making provision, under the Highways Empowering Act, for the existence of Road Boards. The members of Road Boards are elected by the ratepayers, and the Boards receive a subsidy from the General Government, with such additions as tho Provincial Council may be able or willing to make. Provincial Councils have -nothing whatever to do with the personal constitution of the Boards. Dr Bulmer, of Wellington, has been appointed by the .Committee of the Reef ton Hospital as Surgeon to the institution. He is expected to commence his duties about the Ist of August." The question of protection from floods is arousing attention in the Province of Marlborough. As the work of settlement has progressed the destructive power of these inundations that Blenheim has been subject to has increased so that the question has become of vital importance to the settlement. The Borough Council of Blenheim are bespeaking the services of their new member in Parliament to procure an alteration in the Hawke's Bay Rivers Act, so that it can be brought into force over that portion of their plain liable to be flooded. The Wellington City Council have decided not to issue licenses to peddlers, who are distinguished'from hawkers by the fact of carrying their wares on their backs or in baskets, while hawkers use some sort of conveyance. A somewhat amusing conversation as to who were hawkers took place, and it was decided that a milkman, going round with his cart, was not a hawker, but that a butcher, sending round a cart, and weighing out meat in the sreet, was a hawker. Local administration possesses claims for uuder"the^tf&s^ are creating considerable interest. Several settlers of standing are spoken of as candidates for the vacancies under these Acts. The Inangahua , Herald advocates increased representation in the Assembly for the Buller district by at least one additional member. With a view to carrying this out, our contemporary suggests that the present district of Buller should be divided into two electoral districts, so as to include the Central and Upper Buller, Lyell and Tnangahua in one district returning one member to the House of Representatives. In the County Council, on Friday, Mr Hoes resumed the debate on the motion of the Chairman — I'That in the opinion of this Council, one half of the salaried of the Wardens, who are also Resident Magistrates, should be paid by tho General Government, because the duties of that office occupya large portion of tho tjme. of these gentlemen, while all the revenue derived from these Courts is paid to the account of the Colony, and that for the same reason the salaries of j the clerks and the bailiffs attached to these Courts should be paid in part by the General ' Government." Mr Barff moved—" That the words ' General Government' be struck out, aud that ' from the Colonial revenue' be inserted jn their stead." Mr Robinson seconded 1 the motion, and- a%r a short discussion the amendment was agreed to, and the resolution was then passed without dissent. At the recent sitting of the Supreme Court in Dunedin, one. of the jurymen named Thompson was challenged by the Crown Prosecutor. His Honor : ; Why, the man is drunk. (To Thompson, interrogatively)— You have been drinking ! Thompson : Yes ; a— a little. His Honor : "fou have drunk a good deal, I should think. You were drunk yesterday. Thompson : I've had no dinner. His Honor s Dinuer ! No, I should think not. People do not usually take dinner at ten o'clock in the morning. Mr Caldwell, take this iman into your custody for twenty-four hours ; that will teach him that ha must not come to Court drunk as a juryman. Some strange illustrations of the adminis' tration of the law are occasionally given in the inferior courts on the West Coast. In Hokitika daneejhouses are licensed; in Greymouth they are not. Tn Weatport, lately, a hotelkeeper was fined LlO for permitting a game of chance to be played in his house. In Hokitika, on Saturday, the landlord of the same description of house was fined I 'ls for a similar offence, and h« was also fined 20s only for keeping his house open at irregular hours under circumstances which are thus described :— The evidence of Con-stal-le Cashion was to the effect that he went into the hotel at about a quarter to five o'clock on the morning of Sunday, the 7th instant, and found there nine men, six in one room and three in another, besides tho girls belonging to the house. When he first went in the men were not drinking, but they had drinks before he finally left the house. There were lights in the bar and in all tho rooms. The following is a copy of the memorial to his Excellency the Governor and the House of Representatives, praying for an inquiry into the recent purchase of town lands at Westportby MrO'Conor :— "The petition of the undersigned inhabitants of the Buller district humbly sheweth -That on the 4th of June, 1872, Eugene J; O'Conor, a member of the honorable House of Representatives and of the Provincial Council of the Province uf Nelson, did purchase certain sections of laud in the township of Westport, which the said Provincial Council have condemned, :iud have thereupon passed certain resolu- ' ] tious gravolj and injuriously reflecting

upon the character of the said E. J. O'Conor in such a manner as to bring him into public hatred and contempt. That the said E. J. O'Conor has brought certain grave charges as to the manner in which these resolutions have been passed, tothe great scandal and discredit of our Provincial institutions. Therefore we humbly and respectfully pray your Excellency and your honorable House to cause a strict judicial, inquiry into the whole proceedings in order that justice may be done." The Stafford Tow 1 correspondent of the West Coast Times states that the funeral of the late T)r Matthews proved; in a marked manner, the respect in which the deceased gentleman was held by the inhabitants of the Waimea district. Members of the orders of Oddfellows, Foresters, Hibernians, and Reuhabites formed in procession at one o'clock on Saturday afternoon, and moved to the Church of England, where the Venerable Archdeacon Harper delivered a funeral sermon. Altogether there could not have been . less than 350 followers. The relations between Mr Beetham, R.M, and Mr G. B. Barton appear to be anything but friendly. On a recent occurrence the Warden characterised the action of Mr Barton, in putting down a summons for hearing without consulting the Court, as a piece of impertinence, whereupon something like the following occurred :— Counsel : What right have you to address me so; you. should consult the Act, of which you show no knowledge. You should consult the Act before using such language The Magistrate : I know the Act as well as you ; and if you address me in Court in that manner, I shall ask you to leave it, or take means to make you leave. Counsel: You can act as you •think fit. I have stood a good deal of this, and am determined to put a stop to it. Hereupon the Magistrate again warned Mr Barton, and the squabble £naed. ■ , The Kaiwhike natives (says, a Wanganui paper) have again interfered and stopped the ploughing on Captain Ivesen's land. On the morning of the 4th a mob of them appeared on the ground, and caused the pl«ughman to desist, removing at the same time the plough and horses to some distance. The news that " gold in quantities likely to prove payable" has been discovered at Whangamata, is confirmed by the Tluiines Guardian. The following items of Westport news appear in the Times:— The opening of the new United Methodist Free Church has been delayed until the 28th instant, in consequence ot the inclement weather delaying the completion ot the contractor's work.-— The petition praying for the establishment of a Municipality in Westport has been acknowledged, and as soon as some few . technical points of information are embodied' in the document it will be presented to the Governor for consider.atiqiy~On Friday the selection of .new sites 'on the Colliery Reserve took place at the Court House. Mr Commissioner Sharpe having previously classified She applicants into five divisions, according to the value and position of their property holdings, each person drew a ticket for priority of choice, and thereafter, in rotation, made a selection from the numbered plan ot tlie new township. — The contract for the. formation of another portion of Palmeraton street and Rintoul street has been taken, at the price of LlO per chain, tUe work to be completed within two months.— The river and tide have washed away another slice of doomed .Gladstone street, necessitating the removal of more buildings. Mailer's boot store on the one side of the street, and the old Boatman's Arms on the other side, are now the corner houses. The Bank of New South Wales building is now being shifted into Molesworth street, and will ''fall in line" between the Times office and Mr Falla's store. Referring to the fine recently imposed npon Mr Hannan, as a meniber of the Arapenalty inflicted will operate as a salutary warning to the members of similar local bodies throughput the colony. The law very properly disqualifies persons Avho accept offices of profit or emolument from holding seats in the bodies from which they derive the appointment, but although a heavy penalty is in most cases attached to offences of this kind, the law has practically remained a dead letter; . That the decision of the Magistrate was right and proper there can be no doubt, and it will probably have a very wholesome effect in deferring others similarly situated to Mr Hannan from committing a like offence. Some of these days we may hope to find some one courageous enough to bring the law to bear upon the irregular letting by Road Boards and other public bodies of contracts to their own members in which they are palpably interested. We cannot hope for absolute purity in elected bodies, but at least we can and ought to prevent the open violations of the law which are too often practised without exciting public reprobation." ti The_ death of *,veryrold.Freen)ason is thus chronicled by the .Nelson Colonist:— "Mr Thomas Berry, or, more properly, de Berri, a lineal descendant . of the French Duke de Berri, died last week at the very advanced age of. ninety-six years; He was made' a Freemason in the Grand Lodge of England in the "year 1821, the Duke of Sussex being , then Grand Master. The father of deceased J was son of the Duke de Berri, who. escaping from France in 1793, in the Reign of Terror, ultimately settled in Colchester, England, and obtained the freedom of that city, under* the name of Berry. The son passed much of his time in America and France, mixing largely in the political intrigues of those days, and ultimately died in Colchester, at the very old age of one hundred years and four daya. His son, the subject of the present notico, appears to have continued in trade more steadily than his progenitor, and to have acquired some means. He was subsequently induced to emigrate to these shores (through the representations of sons who had settled here previously), then being at the ripe age of seventy years. He will be remembered as having been .in the employ, of the Nelson Government for many years ; and the craft will recollect him; as having been for a similar period an office-bearer of the Nelson Lodge. . .;