THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 1873.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1383, 6 January 1873, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 1873.

Even in a small community like Grevmoutb there are not a few persons who have, at some time or other, been passengers in the steamer Great Britain (luting the nurabHr of years she has been under command of Cap 1 ;. John Gray,' and the news of his death under auch circumstances as are described was heard with keen reg r et by them, as by many who were only acquainted with the qualities of the maa by hearsay. All of the Greymouth residents who have travelled with Captain Gray hive lively and pleasant recollections of the extent to which he aided, as a manly, hparty, cheerful comm^ndfr, in relieving the monotony of their sea-voyages, i and iv contributing t'> their comfort. On ; these voyages friendships were established ■ which extended over years. and those who participate in them bave heard the news of j thiir terminate n with sadness ai d r Oi;ret. It is highly gratifying lhat coach and dray traffic between Grey mouth and Reef on is now established. an 1 Cassidy's i coach, the departmeof which we .announced on Saturday, performed the through j mi-nev in good time, and returned to town at 7 o'clock on Saturday niahfc. Mr Hastings started from ' eefton at 1 1 am. on Friday, with a larae waggon and a team of seven horses, and arrived in town on Saturday night. He will retur.i. probal'ly to-day, with a heavy load. Yesterday, a springwaagon, containing four passengers, was riven by Mr Carroll fvora town t>> Maori N'nlly easily in three hours, and the return journey could bave been made in much less time. These facts are very satisfactoiy. and indicate the commencement of a new era in our up-country traffic. Byron's burlesque " f.a Sonnambula," played for the first time in Greymouth, formed the principal part of the performance at tho theatre on Saturday evening, and, improved as it necessarily will bo on repetition, it should dos^ for a number of nights. Mthough not superior as to spectacle, it is considerably superior to auy of the same class of play which has been produced here, as to its completeness in burlesquing sentiment OTd supposed romantic incidents or situations. It abounds also with puns of every possible quality When plfved on Saturday, there was a succession of little •ircumstances which marred its effect ex cept in increasing the enjoyment of thots who have a high sence of the ludicrous, but here is no reason for these recurring.' and if those who witness Mr BnrfoH's niock melodrama as the Count Rodolpho do not confess it to be as five a bit of burlesque acting as they bave seen, there will be reason to doubt the propriety of the popular notion of burlesque. His acting of the part was perfection itself, Misß Stephenson also exerted herself almost to exhaustion in

"pulling" the play through, and Mr Sam Poole, as Emilia, though behind in his text, and baulked in some songs, admirably " walked the plank," in accordance witb the burlesque notion of somnambulism. The nther parts will, no doubt, bo better developed this evening. Mr Burford's it wonld be impossible to elaborate. A scene from •'The Honeymoon," acted with "sparkle, made uu, with some songs, the rest, of the programme, one of tho songs by a n«w male voice, as were other songs by the same voice iv the couise of the burlesque, beiug very well suns'. Nothing further has yet transpired with regard to the sticking-up of Mr Hayes near 'he Ahaura, although the police are doing cheir best to unravel the mystery." - The large Art- Onion, in connection with stall 1 of the late P eahyterian C&uich Bazaar, was drawn at Johnston's Hotel on Saturday nighfc. As there are a number of unsold tickets still unreturned, the winning numbers will not be published until these come to hand. The annual meeting of the Volunteer Fire Briaade takes place to-night at 8 o'clock *harp, for the electionjiof officers for the year, and to receive tlfeßhnual report. The Committee of the late Christmas sports are requested to attend at 7 o'clock this evening at tne Albion Hotel. The memhers are specially desired to observe punctuality in tho hour, as the presence of several of the committee is required at a later hour in ither places. A public meeting was held in Maori Oul'y on baturilay evening, to congratulate Mr Dungati ou his re-election for the Paroa district Mr James Duffy occupied the chair. Mr D'ungan, who was preseut, addressed the meeting at some length, ami gave a satisfactory explanation of the late election, and entered into a general review of his political conduct, ana of those tueasur. s <>i general i terest which he thought wouM be 'nmght before the n.*w Council. He concluded his address amidst loud applmse. Air Phillips proposed, and Mr J. Lawn ■<ecouded, a vote of continence in Mr Dungan, which was carried by acclamation. Avo c of thanks to the « hai man brought the meeting to a satisfactory cooclusion. The annual picnic given to the children attending St. Patrick's School will take place at Woolfe's Piuldock to- morrow Mr Charles W. Ireland, son of Mr Ireland, Q.C., has been appoiuteii secretary and a«socare to his Honor Mr Justice Chapman, judge of the Supreme Court, Dunedin, New Zealand. Professor Haselmayer, the conjuror, seems to have the frequent misfortune cf meeting with men of bellicose intentions. Lately, while he was rehea.-sing at the Temperance Hall, Melbourne, a shoeless fellow went into _fclMi~li<bU_-'witk-a- bv.KXttotioU and aa3i»trlbCll Mr Haselmayer, striking him on the hand. He was locked up, anil described himself as a Swiss named Antonio Danzi. He said that he had got drunk, and that some one had knocked him down and taken his boots off. lie was finei us., with 2s 6;1 costs. In noticing the report of the death of CaotaintJray, of the s.s. Greit Britain, the Melbourne Age says :— There is a bare possibility that the melancholy announcement of the death of Captain Gray, of the s s. Great Britain, may turn out to a certain extent incorrect i.e., in so far as the manner of it is concerned. The Associated Press telegram states distiuctly that he " jumped" overboard, but a private telegram receive'! ; by Messrs Bright Bros, and Co., the Mcl- j bourne agents of the vessel, is worded — '* Captain Gray lost overboard." There is, therefore, some ground to hope — slender though it may be — that the unfortunate gentleman did not deliberately take his own life. We learn that the very day he left Melbourne Captain Gray was in unusually low spirits and iv bidding good-by& to an iuti•iiate friend complained of an almost unbearable pain in his head, sayiug, "No one knows what I suffer."