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Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1278, 3 September 1872, Page 2

The nomination of candidates to fill the seats vacated by rotation in the Borough Council took place yesterday. There was no visable excitement, and very few of the ratepayers took tho slightest interest in the proceedings, so much so that the election was a walk over in all three wards. Mr E. Masters was nominated for East Ward, Mr G. Glenn for Middle Ward, and Mr J. C. Moore for West Ward, and these gentlemen will be declared duly elected at the Town Hall, at noon to-day. Mr Edward Masters has been appointed a Commissioner of the Waste Lands Board of Westland, in the room of Mr Lahwan, resigned, Mr South, Hokitika, is gazetted as Revising Officer for the County of Westland under " The Building and Land Societies Act, 1866." To-morrow evening a benefit will be given by the Stephenson-Burford Company at the Volunteer Hall for Mrs Tucker and family, who have recently been left destitute, under very distressing circumstances. The adjourned meeting of the Building Society was held last night at GHmer's Hotel, when a ; Urge number of defaulters paid up their first deposits. The Society is now in funds, and the first meeting of the directors for receiving applications for loans will be held on Thursday evening. The remains of the unfortunate young man Hall, killed by falling from a terrace at Ryan's Creek, near No Town, were interred at the Twelve-mile Cemetery on Thursday last, and the great degree of respect in which deceased was held was manifested by some eighty in number of business people and miners following his remains to the place of interment, where the funeral service was most impressively read by Mr Warden Whitefoord. Mr Yogel, on Wednesday last, announced that the Nevada would either bring or send the mail to Wellington, so as to arrive by Saturday. The Southern mails would be then transferred to the Rangitoto, which would take them to Lyttelton, hud wait there 24 hours ; then proceed to Otago, where she would also wait 24 hours ; and then to Melbourne, in time to catch the Suez mail. For this service, L3OO was paid, and Webb's agents had agreed to fiud this sum, irrespective altogether of any penalties incurred for the delay of the Nevada. A meeting of the shareholders of the Masonic Hall Company was held last night, at Ancher'sCommeraal Hotel ; W. S. Smith, Esq, in the chair. The hon. secretary, Mr W. Hindmarsh, intimated that about two hundred shares had been subscribed, and that there was every probability of iifty more shares being taken up r y members of the craft residing in the up-country districts, as well as the Masonic Lodges in town rendering their assistance. It was moved and carried that the company be registered under the Limited Liability Act. The shareholders then proceeded to the election of directors for the ensuing twelve months, when the following gentlemen were elected — Messrs W. Hindmarsh, W. S. Smith, G. W. Moss, James Kerr, G. C. Bowman, W. M. Cooper, and E. Ancber. Messrs Roulston and Finston were elected auditors. The meeting then adjourned, when the Directory transacted some business of a routine character. At the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday, before Mr Revell, John Fullerton, who had been five times . previously fined, was charged with committing a breach of the peace with destroying Constable M'Corniick's official head-piece, and with tearing up one of the blankets in the moderate shelter of which he had passed the night in the lock-up. Mr Perkins, for the defendant, admitted the offences, and picturesquely described the particular circumstances under which the defendant had been, by excess in ardent liquors, reduced from a high condition of sociability to a very low condition of insobriety. The defendant was fined in all L 2 4s. — Murdoch Callan, charged with committing a breach of the peace at the same time, was fined 10s ; and Peter Endlund, for a similar offence at another timo, was fined a similar amount. Yesterday afternoon, an extraordinary general meeting of the Grey River Steam Tug Company was held at Kilgour's Union Hotel, for the purpose of considering the advisability of declaring a dividend. The accounts were gone over by the Secretary, Mr Moss, and it was agreed that from the profits a dividend of ten per cent for the quarter should be declared, and that L2OO should be carried to the Reserve Fund, which is now deposited in the Bank of New South Wales. The Gazette contains a series of proclamar tiona defining districts for the purposes of "The Diseased Cattle Act." The two districts on the West Coast are the " Southern Nelson district," (including the electoral districts of Cheviot and Grey Valley, together with the Buller electoral district), and the •' Westland district," comprising the County of Westland. There is neither Cattle Board nor Inspector named for the Southern NeJson district, but for Westland the Board consists of Messrs Lahman, FitzGerald, Patten, and Dr Garland, with Thomas Knolles Christian to fill the arduous office of Inspector. Yesterday's WcM. Coast Times says :— A new rush set in last week to some ground on the southern side of the Hokitika River, near Ogilvie's Half-way House, the lead being a continuation of the one styled the Aylmor Lead. It is reported that several claims are paying from LlO to L2O a week per man, while others are on wash that only pays from L 3 to L 4 a week per man. There are about 403 men on the ground. A correspondent at No Town writes : — j "It was generally presumed that after the i great amount of local pressure winch was b,rou»ht to bear aneut the formation of the jroad from the Twelve-mile Lauding to the No Tgwu tpwnship, and the fulsome promises made by the ''powers that be," that a passable track •would have been maintained, instead of which it presents the appearance of a veritable " Slough of Despond," but in fact, such weather as lately experienced lias made it almost impassable either for vehicles or foot passengers. The farce of Laying clown so-called corduroy planks on a muddy or clay bottom, is amply exemplified in this case, as they aro in numerous instances, floating in a bed of liquid mud, having re- i ceiyed uo proper ballasting or pitching. Cm- ' si^eriog thp largo amount of li^lftc befctvesu

No Town and the Twelve-mile, and this being the only Government road in this district, it certainly reflects very discreditably upon the Government that Such a state of things should exist, and no improvement it is presumed may be expected so long as a parsimonious Government employs in this district on the said road only one solitary roadman who, ere he has completed his third or fourth chain of work must perforce return and commence No 1 de, novo. It is proposed to construct a track by way of the head of the Inangahua and Stanley Vale to Amuri, which, saya the -Herald, will reduce the distance to 42 miles over a well grassed country. The present route by way of Ahaura is ISO miles, so that a saving in distance of about 140 miles will be effected. Mr Woolley has surveyed tho proposed route and estimates the cost of a track for cattle driving at 1500. The prospectus of a tramway company has been issued to connect Reef ton and Murray Creek. The proposed capital is LI 2OO in 1200 shares of one pound each. Surgeon and Company, the present holders of the protection, are willing to transfer the same to a company on payment of LISO, the estimated value of the line already formed, and are prepared to clear and form the remainder of the line ready for the reception of sleepers and rails for the sum of L3GO. Some weeks since a robbery of a considerable sum of money and a parcel of specimen nuggets from the dwelling-house of Mr Robt. Watson, Arrowtown, Otago, was reported and the depredation was, till a few days ; ago, shrouded in mystery. It would seem, however, that the police had not given the matter up, as, on Wednesday week, two wellknown residents were arrested on suspicion. John Ferguson was at once discharged, without a stain on his character, the cause of his arrest being some mistake in the identification of the party who sold the stolen gold. The accusation against Samuel Holly was gone into, but he confessed the crime, and has been committed for trial to the Supreme Court. There is an hotel in Sau Francisco under the sole management of the fair sex. From the proprietress to the hall girl, from the bar tender to the boot-black, all connected with the establishment aie women. The portresses are muscular Germans, who handle the most mammoth " Saratogas " deftly and easily, while the clerk is a handsome brunette who parts her short black ringlets on one side, and makes bright repartees to the jokes of the drummers and salesmen who largely frequent the house. The bar tender can make a cocktail quicker and better than any other in the State, and drinks herself every time she is asked to, which on an average is about 50 times a day. The Nelson Mail, of Friday says :— "The no-confidence debate, we understand, is likely to last for three or four more days, which will take it to nearly the end of next week. It had been arranged that Mr Luckie was to follow Sir D. Monro, and in his turn to be attacked by Mr White, of Hokitika. Mr Shephard was ■waiting for Mr Harrison." Iv the debate on Mr Reynolds's motion as to Insular Separation, the Hon. Mr Fox said : — The honorable member has placed on the order paper a certain general proposition. Out of that very little lieht is evolved, and very little can we understand what the thing is to be Avhen actually put into practice. He did not tell us what was to be done with the Provinces in each island ; what he was going to do with the dismounted Superintendents. Mr Reynolds : Hang them ! Mr Fox : lam very glad the honorable member gives us that explanation. A number of persons have marked out claims on a new black-sand lead, lately discovered to the northward of Fraser's claim, on the Ayhner Lead. The men who have bottomed struck a thin layer of payable cand at a depth of ten feet ; but, even at that shallow depth, can scarcely keep the water under. The vein appears dipping away from then), both on tho northern and southern sides ; so the probability is that no other claims will be as shallow as this one. The sinking is very wet, and the ground is difficult to work, being just on the bank of the lagoon. The exact locality is on the Hokitika side of the Ohinese fluming some 12 or 14 chains. There is nothing at present, says the l\oss News, to warrant an extensive rush. Mr M/Giane, one of the prospectors at the Anatori reefs, has brought a ton of quarts to Oollingivood from their claims via NelsoiJ, to get it crushed by the Perseverance battery. Of course great interest is felt in the result, as, if favorable, a fine new reef will have been proved to exist in a district quite new to reefing. Its thickness where at present driven into is about three feet. There are about 140 men at these diggings, most of them working the creeks. A good reef will cause a great change in such a wilderness. Mr M'Gillivray, in a speech during the great debate now going on, indulged in some simile, as well as warm approval of the Government. He said : — ' ' The honorable member for Timaru stated that the hon the Premier had lost some of his energy since he was wont to itinerate in the bush." I can only suppose that the honorable gentleman's physical power was alluded to, for I cannot believe, and I .have sufficient to prove to me, that he has not lost any of his intellectual power. I was also very sorry to i learn that the hon the Colonial Treasurer has not yet been sufficiently ballasted ; but I apprehend, when he comes to deal with this subject, he will be found fully ballasted, and will not, in the present adverse storm, have to close-reef his topsails. In oonolusion, 1 have only to say^-and I speak with perfect impartiality, |tor I am no party man, that I can see in the individuals composing the Ministry, high principles and talent, and downright honesty of purpose, and consequently, before I am off with the old song I should like to know what the new song is to be." There is a legend that, when Mr Stafford was Superintendent of Nelson, he once read his opening address to the Council, seated, and with his hat on, while the members stood. Mr Fox, in replying to Mr Stafford's recent speech, made some slight reference to the circumstance. He said :— I do not know what the honorable member means by " royal progresses," but I remember a time when a gentleman who held the office of Superintendent used to sit with his hat on when delivering an address to the Provincial Council. That is an idea of royalty which Ministers have never entertained. — Mr Stafford : If the honorable gentleman says that I ever addressed the Council with my hat on, he is entirely misinformed. — Mr Fox : Then the newspapers are responsible, for it has been currently reported by them during several years that he did so. I humbly ask his pardon, and I am glad to have given him an opportunity of explaining the matter. He said that, judging from the manner in which we went about, he thought we must have read a book called " Royal Progresses. " I only hope, when the honorable member forms a Minjstry, particularly if ifc be formed of thoge gentlemen whose uanies haye bepn circulated by means of the newspapers as those of the coming Ministry, that, when , people see them going about, they will not } think they have read a book called "The I Innocents Abroad." Well, of what did our ' ■ " royal progresses" consist ? For my part, I j usu'illy make my progresses in an old I shooting- jacket, and I believe my honorable . 1 colleagues do the same ; we travel in the ] simplest pqssible mauuer. ]