THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1872.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1281, 6 September 1872, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1872.

The- proverb- that while the grass is growing there is dapger. of the , steed starving is only of Hmited application, for if he is a.sensible^steed,.. and [has the opportunity, he will betake himself to pastures new, j nd thereupon refresh himself. What is applicable to the equine race in this respect is equally so to humanity, and especially, to those of its representatives who are nomads by necessity, if not by nature — the miners. Starve they will not, if they can help it by betaking themselves to the least known and Avorst reputed spot to be found within the four quarters of the globe, sustaining themselves in the interval on that pleasant and cheap provender, hope. So far as local experience has gone, there is little risk of even the moderately industrious miner being staived out of the country, but what is luxury to one man is often penury to another, and people often presume that they are hard up when they hear of others being better off than themselves. As the war horse smells the battle from afar, the mirier has a sense of hearing fair reports of far fields which is astonishing to everyone but himself. This sense of hearing seems to be at present in a high state, of,, activity among the population of the West Coast. They are heading of a place which, if we may be permitted the play , upon words, may be called an exaggerated ." stringer "—the Roper ; and 1 they are hearing of other places which are only by a few degrees of latitude less distant, and a few degrees less attractive because less remote. From these quarters there ia not as yet information, either authentic or unauthenticatcd, such as would indicate the existence of a gold field even equal to those which are here available, but the absence of information is frequently the charm which miners find in fresh fields, and unless some substantial inducements are held out to the enterprising, there is a possibility, reason or no reason, of our losing some proportion of our population. With any prospect of this, the present is obviously the time for urging upon the Government the undertaking of those works which, upon reliable data, are calculated to be the means of rendering directly available very largo areas of auriferous ground. We refer particularly to what i 3 known as the Nelson Creek water-race as, of all proposed works, the one which would give the greatest impulse to mining industry in the Grey Valley, which would be the means of retaining in the district many who may now be disposed to leave, and which is certain to render reproductive an extensive stretch of ground which j 13 now a3 valueless as the desert of I Sahara. It is already known that the construction of this water-race has, been ' authorised, and we arc also informed that the detailed survey is now being proceeded with— both satisfactory statements of themselves, but unfortunately the process'of survey seems, in most enterprises of the kind, to be a process indefinitely prolonged. It would be more satisfactory to have a little more information as to the exact stage at which the undertaking now is, and this, we imagine, only requires the asking to ensure its being given. The business of the country is at the moment necessarily at a stand-still, but from this fitful fever of political excitement the Legislature is likely soon to recover iUelf, and the member for the district would, no doubt, only, be too glad to reUeve the anxiety, .of jbis constituents by gaining the desired information, and by communicating the same, whether favorable or otherwise to the early prospect of the work being undertaken. Whether undertaken early or late, the desideratum is that there should be some feeling of certainty as to the work being .commenced', anii as to the' date whenj that shall be done, Men who are now* on the move might then be induced to remain, acquainted as many of them are with the extent of the gold field which would be made accessible to thousands.

The debate on the no-confidenoo " resolutious of Mr Stafford was confidently expected to conclude last ni«ht, and Mr Hawley, the telegraphist, was in atteudance till midnight, but up to that hour news of the result was received. ' > ? ■■' The Greymouth portion of the San Francisco- mail was received last night by coach, having no doubt, been landed at; Lyttelton by the s.s. ; Rangitotoi -„:.■' ■f Our Reef ton correspondent has furnished Us with a report of the evidence taken on in the case of alleged murder by Charles 'Sibree and George Barton. We are iudebt4d to Mr W.;Pitt^' solicitor, for the early deliverer of pur correspohderit's letter. •' An extra effort to elevate the dramatic 1 taste of Greymouth, and to pbaso also the portion of the public who appreciate: good scenery and spectacle, is to be mkde thjs evening by the production of the play of -^•'Macbeth." Extensive preparations have_ been made for the successful presentation of the play, and if the music, acting* arid scenic effects are not a success, it certainly will not be in consequence of deficient rehearsal or defective skill. As the occasion ; is Mr Burford'g complimentary benefit, there should be a crowded house, for as manager or actor he has earned admiration, whi^e as a private citizen he. is highly worthy of respect. After the play Mr Smullis to contribute a budget of comicalities. •■ : ' " At the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday, before Mr Wiiitefoorfl, R.M, Thomas Gaffney was brought up, having been arrested on a Warrant issued at Reef ton, charging him with larceny as a bailee. He was remanded to Reefton,but*he was admitted to bail on his own recognizance of L7ol The following civil cases ware heard :— Forsyth T . and Masters vE. A. ta'twig, Rceftori, judgment for plaintiffs, l LGO' 15s (Jd 'aid costs ; Boyd Thompson v H. Pridgeon, Half-Ounce, a claim of L 9 19s 3d. The defendant : had Eiid L 3 103 iiito Cturt, and judgment was B3s 3d and costs ; Boyd Thompson vG. I Wise, a claim for L 8 10s; after tearing the i case, the magistrate gave 'judgment for the defendant with costs ; E. J. Bylund v H. Bowman: this was.af aud summons forL3 14s Cd, and the defendant was ordered to pay 10s per week or suffer 14 days' imprisonment ; Fox and O'Neill v J. Dwyer,- judgment for LIG 8s lid and & sts; The price of meat in Melbourne has risen 2d a lb with:a a month

. The extended report of the Colonial Treasurer's Financial Statement occupies more than 16 pages of " Hansard." One of the Maori members of the House of Representatives, '.'Mr" Katene, thus expressed his faith in the Government :--" I am not able to see that any important matter is contained in this motion. lunderstaud the honorable member for Timaru .to i .b,e,a. great chief, and therefore the guns he brings .tOjbear against the Government ought to be/ ' big guns, so that the Government' ship should be more speedily capsized. Jn my oginion the Governmcntr\vrilrn6rbe"sreasily capsized." ■„.}!>!' In replying to Mr Curtis's general motion on the subject of Provincial boundaries, Mr Fox is reported in Hansard to have said :— " Let us .deal with the case of Westland on its own merits, [this is not a question of territory or dominion. • Some hbnoiable members, and notably ' the honorable ' , member, who now proposes this resolution, s^em to' have an idea that the country belongs to them; but I teUthemwo are not going to govern the country for their benefit or for that of their Provincial Councils, but or the good of the people. We iutend ;to|rectify ttese boundaries for the good , of the people of the West Coast Gold Fields, and not fov* the benefit of the Superintendent of Nelson and: his Provincial Council. Let us understand that, and we shall approach this sub- ' ject with a fair .understanding, and not be dimming our vision with an abstract Mr M'Gilliyray, a Southland member, is , opposed to the Bill legalising marriage with a deceased wife's sister, on these grounds ::r- --" The principal argument which ;luid been advanced in favor of the i measure* was that of there being rid consanguinity. There might' be none; but on the same, groupd, how would the honorable member for Egmont like to marry his r step-mother ? There was no consanguinity there. Why not his mother-in-law? None there. Why not his stepdaughter ? None there. Why not bis wife's jaiece.?,._None there, -And-wJaere-is-this to, end?" v ( „_ . .. _ 1 The Supreme ' Court' iii Melbourne has awarded a policeman LSOO damages, for being tossed by' a biill. l . ' ' J | The Melbourne, Tpwn Hall organ has 79 stops and 4373 pipes. ' It is "blowu" by three, hydraulic engines. .■■ ........ Mr Bregden's influence at the present political juncture was recently referred to by Mr Macandrew, and is thus spoken of in the Lyttelton Times:— If it be true, as has been generally reported, that both Mr Stafford and Mr Wood are strongly inclined to extend rather than circumscribe the Colony's dealings with the Messrs Brogderi, the public will more readily coincide in Mr Macaridrew's remarks. It is notorious in Wellington, and not unknown inCanterbury,'that the gigantic proposal recently laid before the Government by Mr Brogden is favorably entertained by Mr Stafford. There may, it is true, be some mistake in the reports which circulate in the lobbies on these and other matters, and Mr Stafford may simply ha ve ; said that he was not disinclined to discuss the proposal 1 on its merits. Be this a3 h may, there can be no doubt that his own supporters, in a tone of approval, and it as it were a point in his favor, have frequently referred to his acquiescence in the scheme.' TheM.U.I.O.O.F. in Victoria has 12,000 adherents, and its reserve fund amounts to nearly L 150,000. Mr Curtis was erst a Centralist. He is now, according to his own profession, a Provincialisb. In a recent speech he said — " With respect to the whole question of Provincial institutions,- 1 cannot help thinking that a very large change of opinion has taken place in this country wiShin the last few years. "I think that the extreme views held on both sides have, to a great extent, faded, and that the general conviction is, that while Provincial institutions shallnot be regarded as permauent — while it is not desirable to increase the powers of the Provinces until they become ultimately Colonies, and reduce the powers of the General Legisktue until it becomes ultimately little more than a Federal Legislature— still I think that the desire is that these institutions be maintained in a state of efficiency until the country is very much more generally peopled than it is at this time. I believe that not only is that the feeling in the country geuerally, but if it were' possible to destroy the records of this House, to forget- the acts of the past few years, to burn our files of newspapers, and to ignore the existence of • Hansard,' that that feeling would be held by a large majority of this House itself.": This is a very, brilliant conception on the part of Mr Curtis, but, supposing Mr Curtis chose to change bis opinion ju another year or two, wh*t then?. Whiph should we burn? Mr Curtis or our files of newspapers': ' , The Dunedin flto'says:—" We have borne thjß expense! of useless telegrams for some time without grumbling, but are forced to complain of the bias which GreviHe and Co. import into their messages. Tlie Parliamentary messages sent us of late have been strongly marked by a leaning towards the Opposition ; a similar feeling has on two or three occasions been shown in telegraphing jpere ordinary intelligence j and we have had to pay no inconsiderable sums for what must be called the political "sympathies" of Groville's manager, which wo refused to publish. Grcville and Co. may have been hardly dealt with by the Government, but that is a matter which concerns hot the public, who with us require reliable information, and that only. We have taken the only<steps available at present to'remedy this unfairness, and regret that only one side ! 6f the no-confidence debate 'has been transmitted to us.. All we desire is strict impartiality." ! ; .-■.;.■ -■' .;i -:■■■■■ I '■■::/. In the 'Ghristchurch Resident Magistrate's Court, last Jweek, James Woods was summoned' 1 on- ■•£•■ charge- of having indecently assaulted Louisa Fa wcett by kissing her in a railway carriage on the Great Southern Railway.' - pomplainant, , who 'is about 13 years oj! agc,!resides with.her, father ; at Ternpleton. Her evidence went to show that, _whilsc returning fromiCh.n£tchurch_.to...Templeton in a second-class carriage on Wedoesr day last, and • when •• near tie Midclleton station, accused got over to her from the next compartment, put- his 1 a^ni rdtind her waist?, 'and . tried . to '■ kiss' her* ' ; His Worship . imposed a £|te. of L 5. . . . . , .( , r „. 1 A new preparation for blasting las' been invented by Mr W. Elder,, of .Port Chalmers, and was tried mo3t' successfully, on Saturday afternoon at; Messrs Connor and M 'Kay's works, in Lyttelton. The stuff resembles H ; appearance black saijid. It, will not explode, when a match is applied to jfc in open air, but when confined its powar istrsmendous. , A charge of 111 b was put down on Saturday, and it dislodged upwards of 60 tons of stone. Instead of. blowing, out and scattering 1 like ■ the ordinary powder, it dislodges the clay : and rocks, and without . any great rbpoifc. ■ Another trial is to :be made. '.-' . ' ' ;Mr Harrison, i a the Hoiise of Representa- < tives, saidhe had seen, a few weeks ago, in . ' son>e of the Auckland papers, a refereuce i to an application by en Eng'ish company to 1 the Government, that the Crow.i should be f requested to waive its right to the precious ( metals over a certain: area of tho Thames .-, Gold Fields. ; As he conceived this to be a very large and important question, he thought i it only right that tho House should be in- ; formed whether any promises hal been made by the ■Government in the matter, and that v the correspondence, if any, should be laid on v the table. Ho therefore begged to ask, If \ jny correspondence had passed between the v Government iwd the Provi icial Govcrn;neut t

of Auckland upon the subjectof an application, on behalf of an English Company, for the waiving by the Crown of its right to the precious metals over a considerable: area of ground upori .the Auckland Gold' Fields ; aridif so, if the Government will lay copies of such correspondence upon the table '! Mr Gisborne said that he had just laid the papers ™^r e JLK£B,iR. tab.le^and^mo.ved, E that* they be printed. ' / It is rather remarkable the great dep'thl it/ which mining is in some pases pursued in -The. . New-North^ Clunes has a Bhaft down. 1024 ft, and is about to drive, to' test the reef at that depth. The Magdala Company is down 950 ft, and it is believed that the reef'wuTb'e' struck some' distance lower. This shaft will so<m have cost the Company without a speck of gold having been seen. There is a state- : ment that' the "first company that obtains' gold at or below 1000 ft will recei ye a Government; bonus of. LlOOO.'^.'i ; -:<'■ ■■'■'■'

In connectipn w^th the subject of. miningf the -Melbourne 'correspondent of ' the Otayo Daily Times says:— «'l should state that the Sandhurst district has lately suffered a period of depression. This can hardly be' ascribed to any great change in the, miuing prospects of the place, but seems' to be mainly the reaction from a " time of overactive speculation, .which had. rpised. shares 'to'prices i beyond their real value. Speculation having been checked, and the shares become less saleable, the holders were brought paiufully in contact with the prosaic task of paying calls, with a prospect of having to do so for. some .time. The falling yields . of the celebrated Great Extended Hustler's Tribute also tended towards the ( same result," Mr Bathgate, in his speech on Mr Stafford's resolutions, said.r^rf.'Jf the present .Government is' obliged, by the vote of this House, to resign its functions, will the prosperity,, which, at present .exi^st, be checked or en^' couragedby arresting,] altering, or modifying the policy that is-how being^carried out witfiv prudence and care?.; I. believe, if any change of Ministry tiakes'place— if other counsels are brought to bear upon 6ur- fortunes, the result will probably .be.disastrpas, to. the 'country J 1 can look 'forward to the time perhaps when everything is /altered- -to: the time when, like the New Zealander sitting ,- upon the arch of London Bridgej some venerable Wellingtoniau, with, a face resembling that of the honorable member for the Hutt, will be sitting on the ruins' of Wariganui Bridge, the capital no longer hefe-^Wellmgton prostrated or wiped .off. perhaps.; from, the face of crea-' tion, and a new capital established somewhere in Canterbury., . I.think^hatis not an overdrawn picture of what might take place intheiuture. I' believe' that if a changepf Ministry takes place, within ,a couple hi years the seat'of iVoverrirrierit will be removed from the City of Wellington; I would rather i submit to the ills I know, than have others that I know not of."* ■