THE PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 1873.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1441, 14 March 1873, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 1873.

Experience teaches that post-sessional and post- prandial speeches, however they may be heard or read at the time of their delivery, should alike be digested cum grano salis. Fair examples of the propriety of this being done were recently afiorded by the speeches made by Mr Stafford at Tiraaru, and by Sir David Monro at Waikouaiti. Both speeches were, by a considerable interval of time, post-sessional, and they partook also of the immediately post-prandial character, not in any derogatory sense, but from the circumstance that they were spoken to please more than to convince. Strangers as both gentlemen are to Timaru and Waikouaiti, it was remarkable how lively was the interest taken in the welfare of these districts, and how fluent and flattering were the expressions used as to their prospects of prosperity. According to the dictum of both, each district had rejoiced as, according to the Scriptures, deserts do occasionally rejoice, and the hope was that each would pursue this course of rejoicing continually. In common with all parts of Canterbury and Otago, they had, it was said, progressed uncommonly, and there was sufficient condescension on the part of the speakers to admit that this progress had been achieved notwithstanding the invention and existence of a Public Works Policy. Nay, it was further admitted that a Public Works Policy was not a bad thing | in its way, but at that point arose " the rub," or the necessity for taking the proverbial " grain of salt." It was not the policy, but its possible administration that was possibly at fault, and, without going the length of saying "We are the people " to be its administrators, it was insinuated — at any rate on the part of Sir David Monro— that others were not. Then followed a touch of the serious, more than sufficient to relieve the lively, as is sometimes the case with postprandial speeches, ending in the mo*al that, but fur extreme care and caution, a Colony otherwise destined to be the first gem of the sea would go headlong to the bottom of the said sea, and so on. The streaks of light and shade were discreetly introduced for the purpose of picturesque effect, but the result was to leave the complete picture in "admired confusion." It was not easy to say what was what, and what was not. Blowing hot and cold, the speakers left their listeners to make what they could of their contradictions, and, of course, to tender the usual vote of thanks. In marked contradistinction to the speech of either speaker, another has more recently been delivered — the speech of Mr Reeves, the late Minister of Public Works in the Middle Island. Received as was the report of Mr Reeves's speech, only late, last evening, it has been impossible to do more than peruse it, although the prominence of his position in connection with a past Ministry would justify us in making from it considerable quotations. A perusal of it, however, justifies us in characterising it as the most interesting, and decidedly the most practical post-sessional speech which has been made during the present recess. Mr Reeves'a practical turn and plain mode of speech were sufficiently recognised by those who waited upon him as members of deputations or otherwise when he visited the West Coast, and we anticipate that such- quotations as we may be enabled to make in other issues will thoroughly confirm that opinion. To says that he " nothing extenuates^nor sets down aught in malice," is to use a familiar phrase which briefly expresses the fair manner in which, without complete sympathy, he speaks of his late colleagues, and in no

extreme spirit of condemnation, refers to those who filled the ranks of the Opposisition. He professes to give tbe preaenr. Ministry, or the Ministry which succeeded that of which he was one, only a general support a3 a private member, but, relying upon the soundness of the policy of their predecessors, and while admittedly no sanguine enthusiast, he takes a much more favorable view of the future than has ever been done by the members for Timaru and Waikouaiti, and nothing has yet been shown that he is likely to be wrong, and they are likely to be right. Towards the close of his speech he said : — " I would orly now say with regard to the future that in spite of the gloomy predictions that one hears on all sides, my views are totally unaltered with regard to the expediency and wisdom of the policy inaugurated by the late Government and supported by the public at large. We have been told that the country is overburdened with debt ; that the policy we are undertaking is of the most dangerous description ; that if anything goes wrong, people will be involved in an unknown amount of taxation, and we shall all probably come to ruin. I don't believe a word of it. The men who tell us this tell us that never was the country in so prosperous a condition before, since they have known it, and that it is peopled by a race so energetic, industrious, and able that nothing can ruin them. If this country is peopled by such a race, is it such an impossible task for them to do what nearly every other country has already done — that is, make those railways that are necessary for developing the commerce and promoting the settlement and progress of the Colony 1 I refuse to believe anything of the kind. We have undertaken no extraordinary task ; there is no extraordinary difficulty in the way. On the contrary, fortunately for ourselves, we have not been able to commence our railway system until we are in a position to benefit by the experience that has been paid for hy the rest of the world for the last thirty years. While England has paid ,£40,000, i5C,000, £60,000— aye, £100,000 a mile; while Victoria has paid as much as L 40,000 per mile for railways, we are going to make ours for an outside average cost of £5500 per mile. I say there is nothing to fear. What we require is a wise, able, and progressive Government — a Government that will take care to conduct these works wi^h wisdom and energy, and I believe the people of this country will have no difficulty whatever in finding such a Government."

Notwithstanding recent repairs, the Omotumotu road is still in a disgraceful state. Yesterday afternoon Mr Rankin's waggon got completely bogged about a mile from town, and there it remains. When the coach from Reefton arrived it was found impossible to pass, so the passengers got out and walked to town. The horses were taken out of the coach, and by great exertions and at much risk, the coach was dragged past the dray, all the time hanging half over the sidling, and in great danger of toppling into the river. The following is the latest and most precise intelligence the Westland Register has been able to glean respecting the absconders, Chamberlain and Levy, and its correctness may be relied upon. At dusk on Sunday evening a carter named Mason, on his road from Christchurch, accompanied by another man— who -was within the waggon in the neighborhood of Harcourt's farm, about the 2oth mile post, saw two men approach, one of whom wore a straw hat, and the second was bareheaded, and without a coat. The light did not enable him to distinguish their dress, and he was ignorant of such men being at large ; he has since seen the published description, and believes it to coincide. He, however, from their manner and mode of approach, suspected their intention was to stick him up, but being armed, he called out to his companion that he would drive over them. Hearing this, they cleared off the road. Later the same evening, at an accommodation-house known as " Old John's," a few miles further on the road, two such men also presented themselves aud asked for refreshment, which they partook of outside, refusing to enter They paid for their rueai with a pound note, and proceeded on their way. Mr Cleary has since become aware that Chamberlain has had a note of this value secreted, so that there is confirmatory evidence of their identity. It is supposed that they are heading for the Mackenzie country which they can attain by following the gullies and keeping out of sight, and which is, moreover, well known to Levy. The above occurrences form the only clue hitherto obtained of the course of these desperadoes. ; The protection granted to Mr Thompson, for the ferry at the Arahura, has been cancelled. His Honor Judge Gresson arrived in Hokitika on Wednesday evening, from Christchurch. The sittings of the Supreme Court commence on Monday. Yesterday morning two grooms, named Joseph Russell and Anthony Marley, rode a couple of horses down to the Lagoon. Whilst in the water, Marley struck the horse Russell was riding with his hand. It gave a plunge forward into deep water, and threw i Russell, who sank in a deep hole. Mr Chesterman, from the other side, observed the man sink, and at once pulled to the place He reached down and succeeded in grasping Russell's hair, and bringing him ashore. It was some considerable time before Russell revive*!, and had Chesterman not acted so promptly, the accident must have proved fatal. Murray's Great World Circus troupe arrived in town yesterday afternoon, from Hokitika. They will open to-morrow evening opposite tae Fire Brigade Hal]. A discussion has recently been going on in the Auckland and Otago papers respecting the right of the highest dignitaries of the Colonial Episcopal and Catholic Churches to the title of "My Lord. " One of the letters, signed "Episcopalian," in the Otago Daily Times, contains the following clear anil pointed statements with reference to the subject:— "l recollect twenty-four years back the same question being raised in Port Phillip (now Victoria). The matter was referred to the Home authorities, when the Secretary of State for the Colonies ruled that 1 no Colonial Bishop was entitled to such a distinction, that honor only being conferred on the spiritual peers of the realm. lam notable to say whether the ruling of the Home Secretary of State has been reversed since then, but I am inclined to think it has not. 1 know that Dr Perry, bishop of Melbourne, objects to being addressed by the title of ' My Lord,' or at any rate he did at the time I refer to. and in my hearing. " To us, Coromandd Mail, it has always seemed that other denominations might as fairly claim the title for the local heads of their churches. Thus we might have his Lordship the Moderator Bruce and his Lordship the President Buller, or, and here we reach the "reductio ad absurdum," his Lordship Warlow Davies, A.M.

Alexander Vallance, a well-known milkman residing on the Orie.Tree Point road, about five miles from Invercargilli com-

mitted suicide on Wednesday afternoon, about 2 p.m., by shooting himself through the head with a pistol. It appears that deceased came home between one and two o'clock slightly the worse of liquor, and on his wife remonstrating with him on the siibject, he threatened to shoot himself, and at the same time got two pistols out of his bedroom, where he kept them hanging on a nail. Mrs Vallance becoming alarmed, sent for the brother of the deceased, who resided in the neighborhood. When he came to the house she told him what Vallance had said. The iinbappy man was sitting on a chair by the fire at the time, with one of the pistols in his hand. He turned to his brother and said, "Yes, and 1 will do it now," and at the same time placed the weapon to his forehead and fired. Death must have been instantaneous, as the ball seems to have traversed the brain and lodged in the skuM at the back of the head. Deceased had been married about twelve months, and leaves a widow and an infant of about three j weeks old. The Hikutaia gold field, according to one account is an "unmitigated duffer." Warden Fraser and seventy miners left the field the same day. The Cross's correspondent writing from the new field says :— " I can assure you that there is one general disappointment with all those who went to the field to give it a fair trial." A laic Thames paper, however, says that some of the prospectors who brought stone down from a reef in the Hikutaia block are so well satisfied with a test they have had in Grahamstown, that they have taken out miners' rights and have returned to peg out the ground. A lump of native Conner, weighing about 71b, was found by ODe orT;he prospectors in a tributary of the Hikutaia river. The wr&er of "Talk on 'Change " in the Australasian, says : — " Here is a scrap of statistical information which illustrates the great wealth of the two principal Australasian Colonies. In New South Wales and Victoria tbpre are 13 banks of issue, six of the number carrying on business in both of these places. The average deposits in these 13 banks during the last quarter of 1872 amounted to niuie than 214 millions sterling. A further fact. The deposits held by one bank (the bank of New South Wales) at all its places of business amount to more than L 5,900,000,, 900, 000, upon 3i millions of which no interest is paid. At the current rate of accumul*tion it would not be beyond the range of possibility to find foreign nations after a while endeavouring to borrow money in tbe Australian money market !" In country places when the races are over they have two sorts of settling. If a man does not settle in one way he must in the other. This we state on the authority of the Wangaratta Dispatch, which gives the .following as a conversation which recently occurred iv the township : — "'Were you at Moyhu Races?' ' N T o.' ' Ah, you should have been there ; they were first-rate ; and as to the settling in the evening it was the best I ever was at.' ' How so ?' ' Why, for about three h>urs there was about the best solid fiehtme I ever saw ; it was splendid good genuine hitting ' • Ah, but you were not at Beech worth ' " Samples of the red birch, from the Southland district, have been forwarded by Mr Brunton to the Chief Engineer at Wellington, in order that its suitability for use as sleepers may be tested. The total expenses of the great mining caße Clayton arid others v. M orrison and Co. , at Tuapeka will, it is said, probably exceed 1.2500. The jury alone cost L 204. The Tuapeka Times asserts that during the course of the case the famous peg 85 was mentioned 19,287 times. Thompson, Smith, and Barkley have accepted tenders for a brick warehouse, and now wish to dispose of one of their establishments on Mawhera Quay. They are offering every class of goods at prices hitherto unknown in Greymouth, and invite particular attention to present prices, as it is most necessary foi them to reduce their present heavy stock to enable them to carry out alterations without inoonveuience. — [Advt.]