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Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1314, 15 October 1872, Page 2

The regular monthly meeting of the Greymouth Masonic Lodge. E.C., will be held at the Lodge room, Gilmer's Buildings, this evening, »t 8 o'clock sharp. The letters and newspapers received at and despatched from the Post Office, Greymouth, during the quarter ended September 30fch, number as follows : — Letters received, 32,125; letters despatched, 32,067; newspapers received, 28,752 ; newspapers, despatched, 27,608; total received and despatched — letters, 64,192; newspapers, 56,360 ; being an increase over the corresponding quarter in 1871 of 16,754 letters, and 14,486 newspapers. A correspondent who signs himself " Rambler " writes to us : — "I would draw the attention of the Borough Council to the state of Arney street bridge. There is a large hole near the centre ef it in which a person might easily break a leg. I would also suggest that a subscription be opened for the purchasing of a leather medal to be presented to the person who superintends such works, for the unique manner in which the repairs to this bridge are executed." A man who had been an inmate of the Hokitika Lunatic Asylum, and was only discharged last Saturday, committed suicide on Sunday by drowning himself in the Hokitika river. The body was recovered by the police, and an inquest was to be held yesterday. The man's name was Conner. Mr George Bromley, who has been giving a series of entertainments in Hokitika, Ross, and other townships in the South, is expected soon to revisit Greymouth. A meeting of the members of the Greymouth Jockey Club Commictee was held last night, in the Albion Hotel, for the purpose of forming resolutions respecting the working of the Club during the ensuing season, and also to take into consideration the question of the legality of the late election of the Committee. This last was rendered necessary on account of several members expressing an opinion that the meeting at which the election took place was not legally constituted, inasmuch as no quorum had been formed when a postponement was ordered. Taking this view, therefore, a resolution was passed that the existing Committee resign in a body, and that a general meeting of mem-' bers of the Club be held on Friday next, at 8 p.m., in order to elect a new Committee to carry out the business of the season. A public meeting, convened by the Mayor in compliance with a requisition, was to be held at the Town Hall, Hokitika, last evening, for the purpose of protesting against the dismemberment of the County, as proposed by Mr Shephard's Nelson Boundaries Bill. "The Marble Heart, or the Sculptor's Dream," the play to be produced at the Theatre to-morrow evening, is a play which created a considerable sensation when first presented at th« Adelphi in 1854, and which has done^ the same wherever it has been played with discretion in " cast" and taste in scenery. Here, where attention has been given to both these particulars, there should bY a good attendance to-morrow evening, and, as the moral which the play points is directed at the foibles of the fair sex, the representatives of the fair sex among the audience should be in the majority. The prologue to the play represents "the sculptor's dream" — the acted picture of a Grecian artist infatuated with three beautiful statues which his intellect and his chisel have produced, and whose infatuation | is succeeded by despair when lie finds these statues, all' marble-hearted as they were, rendered sentient by the offer of praise and gold. He who dreams the dream is Raphael Duchallet (Mr Burford); a French sculptor, and the plot of the play is to exhibit how men may realise in life, from marble-hearted women, what the artist saw indicated in his dream. He meets a being, feminine, beautiful, enchanting. He loves— deeply, desperately, of course; and sacrifices much, hopes much, while he thus loves. The object of his admiration is Mademoiselle Marco (Miss Stephenson). "Beautiful as a butterfly," &c, she is, however, the living realisation of his dreams— marble-hearted as a statue, and capable of no emotion but the admuationof "position," and the love of " the opinion " of " the world." As the text of the play goes, "for a wealthy marriage she had devoted herself heart and

mind," yet was she "cruel, false, pitiless." The discovery firstly grieves, and finally does unto death the sensitive artist ; and at the last scene of all Mademoiselle Marco, in the presence of her dying or dead admirer, is confronted with the three statues of which the artist dreamt, while the Diogenes of the play pronounces these words " False ones of the past, false ones of the future I Woe to the man who loves you ; ye have ever been and ever will be, ministers of ruin, misery, and dtath !"' This Diogenes (M. Volage, of the play) is a newspaper editor, who is the bosom friend of the sculptor, and whose professional experience, no doubt, enables him to know much about "the opinion of the world," and encourages him to know as little as possible about "marble-hearted women." The play, if performed as it promises to be, should be an attraction and a success. The Nelson Provincial Government have decided on making a radical change in the control of the Westport gaol. On and after the Ist proximo the gaol will be classed as a watch-house and police barracks, and placed under the superintendence of Sergeant Kiely ; the present gaoler, Mr Maguiro, retiring on a compensation allowance. Prisoners, other than those summarily dealt with, will be sent to Nelson gaol, and we believe the same system will be adopted with prisoners convicted in the Reef ton and outlying districts. The local paper says: — "A saving in departmental expenditure will be effected thereby, but whether judiciously or rot remains to be proved," and we think the saviDg is very questionable. The cost of conveying prisoners to Nelson will be involved, but then Nelson will have all the advantage of prison labor to beautify the city and its suburbs, while Westport may remain for all time in a state of swamp. The agent for the Lyster and Cagli Opera Troupe was a passenger by the Albion from Melbourne to Dunedin, to make arrangements for the summer tour of the company through New Zealand. Another valuable addition will shortly be made to the Christchurch Museum in the shape of Etruscan and Roman antiquities from the Royal Museum of Florence. An elephant skin is also on the way, which, when stuffed, will no doubt be an object of interest to many of the visitors. The site for the Government Buildings, Westport, fronting Palmerston street, on the new township is now cleared, and tenders are called by the Provincial Engineer for the removal of the Government Buildings. The Charleston Amateur Dramatic Club has been revived, and this week are to perform the drama "The Ticket -of- Leave Man." On Sunday week a fire happened at Deadman's Creek, Buller district, wheveby a house the property of Peter Heron, better known as Waterloo, was burnt, and its contents totally, destroyed. Another fire took place at Hatter's Terrace about 2 a.m. on Monday, the store and residence of Mr Catchpole being totally destroyed. Mr Catchpole, with his wife and family, were all soundly sleeping at the outbreak, and were only in time to rush from the building, saving scarcely/a vestige of clothing, building, or stores./ Mr Chambers, from Melbourne, a practical coal-miner. Of long experience, reports favorab y oattie Ngakawhau coal-mine. Mr Shapter has returned from Dunedin to the Coast with the intention of resuming practice at Westport and Reefton. Over 120,000 ft of timber have been imported into Westport for building purposes during the past two months, and tbe demand is said to be only temporarily supplied. ■ It was recently reported by telegraph that the Ocean Wave had arrived at Auckland from the Chatham Islands, with Mr Lanauze, R.M., passenger. He has come to seethe authorities at the request of the Europeans of the Chathams, owing to a threatened outbreak of the Maoris on the Island. He states that they hud heard of the doings of To Kooti here, and will adopt his religion. They have given notice to the European settlers that the Maoris would descend upon them on the 12th October. The natives are fully armed, the Europeans meagrely. The Morioris, the original Chatham Islanders, were to hold «i meeting on September 30th to decide whether they would side with the Europeans or the Maoris. It is feared, from their attitude, that they would side with the Maoris. The Europeans have all come into Owengafor defence. The scattered nature of the homesteads has been the chief cause of the alarm. A letter from the Rev Mr Banks on Missionary Schools in the Southern Cross, says he visited Florida Island, where the schooner Lavinia was attacked and five of the crew murdered. The natives came off in large numbers, and were very friendly. A friendly spirit was evinced by the natives wherever he visited. The Glasgow Herald sometimes takes 11,000 words of a Parliamentary debate in one message, at a cost of only L 5 10s. The same message in New Zealand would cost, at the rates now charged, L 22. The bill of costs of the Dunedin Corporation solicitors for the last fifteen months amounts to the sum of L 412 2s lOd, which inclndes the cost of preparing bills for Parliament. A shipment of grouse is expected at Auckland by the Queen Bee': Mr F. Lark worthy shipped ten birds as a first parcel, which we hope may be landed in good condition. Several boxes of growing heather were put on board with the birds to allow ef their receiving, their favorite food in a fresh condition during the voyage, and every precaution has been taken to ensure success. The prospectus of the N«jw Zealand Trades Protection Society has been issued. The primary objects of this society will be to protect subscribers against fraudulent dealers in business generally, and to assist them by information acquired if defrauded ; to afford subscribers immediate and reliable information regarding the respectability and standing of parties proposing to deal with them by establishing corresponding agencies in the various towns throughout the Colony ; to trace out debtors who may change their places of residence, or whose addresses are unknown ; to circulate periodically amongst subscribers information of a strictly private and confidential nature, including all proceedings in the Bankruptcy Court, assignments for the benefit of creditors, declarations of , insolvency and dividends payable, registration of bills of sale and mortgages, judgments in the Supreme Court— in fact all inforraa- • tion derivable from sedulous inspection of those legal records to which access can be obtained; .the collection of trade accounts, dividends, and rents, and the recovery of debts throughout the Colonies at minimum cost to subscribers.