Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1379, 31 December 1872, Page 2

The annual regatta commences to-raorrow morning. The p.s. Dispatch will be the flagslrp moored in the liver opposite the Union Hotel. Prom the number of competitors who have been in training for some time past, we may confidenjly expect that this year's regatta will be tho best and most closely contested that has ever taken place on the Grey River. The annual pic-nic of the children attending tho Greymouth and Cobden schools is fixed to take place on the Ist January in Mr W. Woolfe's paddock. Invitations have been issued to all the schools, and it is expected that the whole of the children will tlr's year minglo in one common festival. The placo of assembly will be at the transit shed at half-past nine a.m., from whence escorted by the Town Band, the children will inarch to the ground. A booth will be erected, at which the public will be supplied with refreshments at moderate charges. The Volunteer Hall is to be re-occupied this evening by Miss Stephenson aud her dramatic company, who are to produce on the occasion the play of "Plot and Passion," one of the best plays produced by the company, and one which will, no doubt, attract a large attendance. The performance concludes with the comedy " The Hough Diamond." On the first night of the New Year the performance is to be one of special attractions—the burlesque of "La Somnambula." Last evening Miss Stephenson gave a second "drawing-room" entftrtainmpnh in Johnston's dining-room, and aucceded in entertaining much a pretty numerous audience. The Presbyterian Church Bazaar was continued last night at the Volunteer Hall, and was again very successful, both as to the attendance and the financial result. A large quantity of valuable goods still remain on hand, which will be sold by auction on some night to be aruounced during the week. Several Art Unions are yet to be drawn, and, consequently, we are as yet unable to state the exact amount realised by the Bazaar, but expect tha f , so far, it has realised nearly L4OO. All prizes won at the Christmas sports will be paid at the Albion Hotel, tbis evening, at eight o'clock. At the Resident Magistrate's Court, yestesday, James Jones, Patrick Walsb, Joseph Elder, and Daniel Macpherson were charged with being drunk. Jones, Elder, and Macpherson were lei off with a caution, it being Christmas time, but Walsh as an old offender, was fined LI, or 48 hours' imprisonment. Jeannette Weeks was brought up on remand, charged with stealing two LlO notes from Patrick Brophy on Christmas Day. The prosecutor give evidence that while he was with the defendant in a house near Tivoli he felt her take the notes out of his pocket. She refused to give them up, aud as be did not care to use violence to remove them has given information to the police. The case was remanded until today. Mr George ETaskell met with a rather serious accident on the Rangiora Drain road on Monday lasi. He was riding along the road when his horse took fright and shied, throw.ng its rider, whose feet remained in the stirrups for some time. When picked up Mr Haskell was insensible, and he was immediately conveyed to his house in Kaiapoi, and was attended to by Dr Trever. He sustained some severe internal injuries and several bruises. Cornish aud party who recently fouuda 12oz nugget in Murray Creek, unearthed a nugget weighing soz ldwton Monday last in the same locality. On Tuesday last the police arrested a man named Lancaster, as being an accomplice with Payne in scuttling the barge Mystery, at Lyttelton. The police also arrested Payne on a charge of {robbery some years back. The Jnangahua Herald says that arrange* ments have been come to with the Anderson's Creek Company by the Invincible Company, for the the latter to crush 200 tons of stone at the battery of the firstnamed company. The price agresd upon is thirty shillings per ton, and all the stone must be delivered at the machine not later than the 11th proximo. During the holidays the men have been actively engaged constructing tramway and shoot for tho purpose of running down the stone. Mr G. Wright has been appointed mining manager, aud Mr Henry Francis, who has had experience of quicksilver tables, will take charge of the tables during the crushing. The writer of " Occasional Noto3 *' in tho Otago Witness says:— "Some remarks from which New Zealand may derive encouragement were made recently to an agricultural Bhow in Ireland, by Lord Lisgar, the late Governor-General of Canada. His Lordship said that emigration from Ireland to Canada and the United States would not be checked until the rate of wages paid for agricultural labor in those countries and in Ireland were assimilated ; and he went on to point out that this assimilation was rapidly appijouching. The American farmers were holding out against giving their laborers 53 a day, whereas in that part of Ireland where he then was, the agricultural laborers got 4s a day, and the latter sum was worth more in Irelaud than in America. It seems not unlikely, therefore, that from this cause the i

emigration from Ireland to America may before long show a falling of. Thin, Mum, is tho tinio for Now Zualanil agon I,* to puah thu advantages oll'orml by [,Ma nolony upon tho attention of tho Irish' juiusiuilry, ' With freo pnsßiigiis liiMior, ii'iil ImtlW wng«H fcliim fcliouo obtniimblo in Amihi'loh, Niifllnjtinli iniliioiiiiiuiil, oxialM |,o ciuiHii Urn i|i|)iiiitiiiii) In illhl.ihxhi l.n bo ovorlookoil, Of (HMUBtt Mum ami oll'oH, will bo vui|iiti<oil lmfom wiy vucy inarkoil rahuUh dan Im ohtujntuli Ix'ili Mitt I'orniui 1 will doubtloHH lm iillowinj for, hihl Mm luM-nr Im only what may ho iloiiiiuuloil from our dovomnumt and Untie awtmtn. Knurgy in more MM|uiroil in touting for omlgmntii thnn in almost any othor bunliiwin," On Tuesday woolt, a man named Ifarrin, or Harrison, a i,«w<lif{gor, wtu» floltina into h's boat from tho JCnihii Wlmrf, Auckland Provinco, whou ho foil into tho wafcor, and, boing drawn undornoath a number of boufca moored thoro, was draw iiodboforo any assistance could bo rendered him. Some of the bystandors say that tlioy saw tho unfortunate man's hand quivoriug above the water a littio way outside tho boats, but it (^appeared before anything could bo dono. Last "Wednesday a tailor named Thomas Smith was drowned in tho river Avon within a few yards of the- Montreal street bridge, Christchurch. Strango as it may scorn for mich. a public place and the time of the day, Smith, having first divested himself of his clothing, went into tbe liver to bathe. He had only been in a moment or two, however, when be sank, and a person standing near tried to save him, but the coldness of the water induced an attack of cramp, and he was compelled to return to terra fir ma w .'.thout having given any assistance. By thi timeanaTaiJi had been raised, and one of the unfortunate man's mates, ns«ned George Morris, otherwise Titraarsb, dived into the river with his clothes on, and after some trouble succeeded in bringing deceased's bedyon shore. Dr Coward was at once sent for ; Dr Patrick also arrived soon after ; but their services were of no ava : \ deceased being past a l l human aid. A telejraph clerk named William Dickinson has been committed for trial at Manchester for disclosing the contents of a telegram. Statures are being obtained in Christchurch to a petition to be presented to his Excellency the Governor for a commutation of the sentence of ten years passed on tlie boy Alexander WaLer M'Kenzie. The Southland Times says :— "The memorial in favor of commuting the sentence of death passed upon Mrs Witting, convicted of murdering her children, has already received over 500 signatures, aud the first portion of it has been taken in charge by tho Judge, for presentntion to the Governor. The remaining sheets when received will be forwarded to head-quarters at once. The prisoner, since her return to gaol, has exhibited a quiet; aud composed demeanor, and sleeps we'l at night, although thoroughly understanding tlic nature of her position. •She has baen attended, iv compliance with her own request, by the Rev. Mr Stobo." A pension of L 750 a year, under the Government Pension Act, has been granted to Colonel Sir Thomas Gore Browne, ?i consideration of his Colonial services. Speaking of deeds which were in a Milner's safe during the late fire, the Auckland correspondent of the Otago Daily Times says :— "In some few cases the effect of the heat and water combined was remarkable. It had shrunk up the deeds so evenly that they presented the appearance of photographic copies, Reduced to one-fourth their origiu.il size, the writing was perfect, and, saving that they required delicate handling, the deeds were as clean as when they left the l)!1.nrls nt tlio ongpooaor." Although it numbers several members of staid and magisterial bearing, the Thames Sharebrokers' Association is at times given to friskinesa ; at all events there are a few of the members who never miss an opportunity of having their joke, grim or otherwise as circumstances may determine. Grimly humorous were the proceedings of the meeting held at the usual hour, on the afternoon of the 10th inst , to declare the state of the market. The chairman and secretary were in their places, and the general attendance was numerous ; but when the usual interrogation was put by the former, not an answering voice replied. The chairman ran over the list of the leading mines, in touching tones of mingled reproach and entreaty, but no response followed. " A maiden over, by Jove," said one. "A clean sheet," cried another— "By all means, gentlemen, let us present the chairman with a pair of white gloves." One dolorous individual bemoaned the tightness of the times, and suggested that Christmas was beginning too early, On one point all were unanimous, viz., that something ought to be done to commemorate tbe occasion of meeting without the declaration of a sale. " Not on that account, my friends," put ia a sarcastic individual, of saturrine expression of face, " but on account of all hands having for once told the truth— a something they never did before. Loud laughter followed this sally, and the meeting eventually resolved itself into something all round for strawberries aud cream. The New Zealand Herald urges the Auckland Provincial Council to take stpps to put a stop to the adulteration of food so extensively carried on in Auckland. The Herald says that a LSO fine would be a caution, but if one of our pious aid estimable bakers or grocers should happen to find himself breaking stones at Mount Eden, we should not hear of much more bad tea, filthy sugar, horsebean coffee, or potato bread." An old West Coast digger is thus mentioned by tbe Southern. Cross :— " Mr Grova, one of the leading representative men of the mining comuiuuity at the Thames ever since its opening, and lately manager and part proprietor of Grove's Battery, on the Hape Creek, left qn Saturday afternoon last, for Sydney, Mr Grove has ken so fortunate as to procure a lucrative appointment as manager of one of the recjntlj -discovered tin mines, and has been selected on account of his mining experience ; but he v> Jll . retain his interest in Grove's Battery. Mr Grove is an old Victorian and Wesc Coast miner, and represented the Thames district in the Auckland Provincial Council for some time in conjunction with Captain Butt, they being tho two first members eldcted after the district was separated from that of Franklin, in which it was formerly merged, Mr Swan at the same time representing the newly- ] created district in the General Assembly. As representative of the Thames Mr Grove was a good and useful-member, and a thoroughly practical and honest man, Mr Grovp was also an active member of 'the Mining Board during its brief career. From the first MiGrove was one of the most popular men on the Thames, and his absence will be regretted by a large number of personal friends of all glasses, who will be glad to welcome him back again, should he return to the ( Thames." ' . ;