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Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1459, 7 April 1873, Page 2

iiie usual monthly practice of the Volunteer Fire Brigade takes place this evening at eight o'clock. It is reported that the construction of the first section of the Marsden road, consisting of 194 chains from Mawhera Quay, has been let to Messrs Tracey and Ke'lock, the con? tracb price being L 3294. The annual general meeting of shareholders of the Enterprise Quartz Mining Company (Registered) takes place at the Urion Hotel, this day, at 4 p.m. The contract price for driving the main tunnel in Anderson's Company in ?n additional 100 ft is 29a per foot. The Inangahua Herald says that on Thursday night last the weather changed, and Friday was bright and sunny with a bracing atmosphere. The weather has now every appearance of being settled for a few days, and we fear that the Band of Hope, Wealth of Nations and Energetic batteries will be obliged to suspend crushing operations. An accident occurred to a miner named J. M'Kenzie in Anderson's claim on Thursday, resulting in the fiacture of a leg, caused by a fall of earth in the tunnel. He was conveyed j to Reefton immediately and the fractured limb was set by Dr Carrie. The patient is at present stopping with Mr Oxley, and is progressing very favorably, no inflammatory symptoms having set in. . The quality of the stone which has bern obtained, from the Fiery Cross mine, at Boatman's, :is most encouraging. Veins of gold are visible throughout the reef, and the quartz appears to be very clean, easily frjabl.e, and ; especially free from those minerals which would interfere with the saving of the gold. The sta tement that the : batteries for this company and the Just-in-Time had arrived in Westport was unfounded, but they may be expected; very shortly, as Mr Graham — who is at present in Nelson— expects to procure the necessary machinery at a local foundry. On Wednesday . last, the Bank of . New Zealand at Charleston escorted 1802oz Bdwt. ISgr of gold, purchased since the Christmas escort, an amount which must be considered highly satisfactory and beyond expectation, considering the very dry weather which has : prevailed, and the very little work miners have been able to do since New Year's time inconsequence.. Mr John Joyce, of Dunedin, has been admitted and enrolled as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. The lease of part of the beach at Taranaki to. the Wellington Iron Sand Company has been granted. The royalty of Is per ton .on iron manufactured is to be paid after four years. The company must produce 2500 tons annually; or pay a fine of 10s per ton on the deficiency. In 23 years more than a milliou of ponu? lation has been added to the city oi London, without including the suburban towns swallowed' up in the course of the city's expansion on all sides. In the same time 250,000 houses of all kinds have been built, and the beats of the police have been extended 1130 > miles. 80,000 policemen ar.e now employed regularly — a standing army more effective and better paid than any equal number since the days of the Praetorians of Rome ; and these are, r ou extraordinary occasions, assisted by the guards and household regiments > of the Queen. : ■ ■ "■ '■ The Bruce Herald reports a case of suicide • at Port Molyneux, committed by a man i named John Duff, formerly of Dunedin. On ' Saturday afternoon last, while several of the i Chinamen employed on the drainage works i upon Mr Telford's property were in search of firewood in the bush just across the bridge - otfer the Piierua; in close proximity to Port 1 Molyneux, they were surprised to observe 1 the body of, a iman hanging i n a dense portion 1

of the bush. They at once came to the Alexander Hoiel, and reported the discovery, when Captain Patefson, of Tuapeka, and another man, led. by the Chinamen, at once made for the locality. The Chinamen spoke bad English; and were indistinctly understood, consequently the Europeans were lei to believe that a man was dying in a creek, and thought there might be some chance of saving life, but on reaching the spot, a ghastly spectacle presented itself. On the branch of a tree, about seven feet from the ground, hung the remains. of a mm. The suicide had spun a piece of flax iuto the form of a rope, about two feet long, and of no great thickness, with which he had done the deed. His feet were just touching the ground. His body was much decomposed, no flesh being visible, and the clothes deceased had worn were loosely covering a mere skeleton. An inquest was held on Monday, but the result is not published. The deceased was a bootmaker, and formerly lived in the North-East Valley, Dunedin, wheie he possesses, or at I one time did possess, considerable property. Of late years his habits have been very intemperate, and he has consequently been separated from his wife and familj, who are said to be resident in Dunedin. Duff arrived at Port Molyneux a few months ago, but has been missing since Christmas last. The Parliamentary survey of a line of railway between Dunedin and Moeraki was begun about tea days ago, and will be finished in time foc ( the me&thg of the General Assembly. Tenders for the construction of the Toko< mairiro and Lawrence railway, a distanfe of twenty-two miles, have been called for. A case of peculiar hardship, says the Hokitika Register, was disclosed in the Resident Magistrate's Court, on Friday, by Mr Commissioner James. The Magistrate inquired why the constables employed in the collection of Agricultural Statistics had not sent in their vouchers for expenses incurred in the performance of this special duty. The Commissioner replied that in consequence of the police not having received their salaries for the last two months, they had been unable to liquidate the claims against them, and therefore could not forward the receipted accounts, which do duty as vouchers. This revelation excited much surprise, and we are sorry to say merriment, seeing that a police force in so utterly an impecunious position is certainly a stauding disgrace to the County. We really hope that_the disclosure will not so paralyse the credit of the force with their local tradesmen as- to preclude them from procuring the necessaries of life. Subsequent inquiries lead us to believe that the matter is "not so bad as it ijeems," as the force is said to be paid up to, within one month of their dues. ; ■, ; „*•§[ .;. : At the District Court, Hokilika, on Friday, the whole business for his Honor Judge Harvey, to deal with Consisted of bankruptcy cases. Final orders of discharge were granted to Alfred Palmer, Andrew Peebles, Thomas Potts, Potts and Pnebles, Leopold Beit, William Bastings. In ihe latter's case it wa3 contingent on his surrendering some property in Victoria Hart and Levy was adjourned till next day. Lopaz and M 'Sherry's and J. Coleman's applications for final discbarge were adjourned till 4th of June. Geo. Buchanan should have appeared to apply for final order of dischargS, .but 1 it was stated that he had left the Colony, and proceedings were quashed. /' ' • The Itobart Town r Merciiry says that speculation has of late been somewhat excited as to what is the true species of the trout lately caught in the : waters of the Derwent and Plenty. Some say they are too large for brown trout, and that they present other ■nppnliavi+.ios/liffm'.An+.-'rnrn -t-.ka.fc snecifis.of the salmon trout. Others, again, affirm tnat they are not salmon trout ; while others consider that they are probably a hybrid peculiar to the Colony —a conclusion whiph they support by asserting that the fish got mixed in the breeding process. The Poverty Bay Stamford says :— " J. H. Campbell, Esq., the R.M. at Waiapu, had a very narrow escape, while oh the journey from Waiapu to Gisborne on Sunday last. It appears that while proceeding in file, along a precipitous and dangerous part of the road, he hit the horse in front of him on the rump with a stick. The animal replied with his hind legs, but fortunately, being unshod, the damage did not result in broken bones. Mr Campbell has a severe contusion on the leg, also on the arm, which the horse inflicted on him while down. Mr.W. Daly also came to grief while trying to subdue a restive horse on Sunday, The animal reared up and fell 1 backwards on his rider. Mr Daly has suffered severely, but no, bones are brokeD." A man named John Burke died under rather peculiar circumstances at Auckland the other day. It appears that on the night of the 17th inst. deceased went to the Queen's Head Hotel, Upper Queen street, and requested to be allowed to lie down as he did not feel well. He remained at the hotel all night. At about 12 o'clock p. m. the landlord heard a noise in the room in which Burke was lying. He went in and saw Burke stooping over a chair. On inquiring what was wrong Burke said that while endeavoring to find the door ht, fell over the chajr and had hurt tl^mself. He then went to bed, and on the following day went to. the house of a friend of his at Newton. He stayed there a few days, when, as he complained of being much worse, he was placed m a cab and conveyed to the Hospitai, where he died shortly after his arrival. On the Gth December, a large meeting of the olergy and laity of the Qhurch of England was held at. Wolverhampton, to bid farewell to the Rev. J. 11. Selwyn, son of the Bishop of Lichfield, and the Rev. J. Still, who are going out as missionaries to New Zealand, to labor ultimately in that portion of the mission-field occupied by the late Bishop Pattesoh. A sister of the murdered Bishop was amongst the audience. Speeches were delivered by the Bishop of Lichfield and the two missionaries, to whom purses of money were presented. The Nelson Mail has been requested to warn the public that a quantity of spurious coin, consisting principally of sixpences, are now in circulation in Nelson. The stamp is a perfect-imitation of the genuine article, but the spurious coin is easily detected by its greasy feel. A public meeting was held at Stafford on [Thursday evening last to consider the advisability of recommending the removal of the Stafford toll-gate to a more suitable site. Mr Houlahan occupied the chair. A resolution was passed to the effect that the County Chairman be requested to cause the toll-gate bo be removed from its present site to the junction of the tramway and the new road, it Beale's farm. There appeared to be a 3onsiderable amount of difference of opinion is to which would be the most suitable site, md a hope was expressed that the County Chairman would visit the district to enable lim to form a correct opinion as to the real :acts of the case. •■••.■• Diplomatic astuteness is not always conIned to political circles. At a recent sitting of the Warden's Court, at Ahaura, a jase was disposed of in which " an applicant "or a mining share," as modern jumpers are jolitely termed, exhibited an amount of ihrewdness which would do credit to a Callyrand. He went "by advice" tq the :kim, and' finding it inadequately -repreiented, as he suspected, he applied to the Warden,, for the "vacant share," and:afbervards posted the required notices. No paricular share was mentioned by the applicant, >ut as all the parties were "friends of his," le took care to impress upon each tha> 4 it

was not his share he wanted. Not he ; Vhe wouldn't think of taking a friend's share." VVheu the^case came on^for bearing,; eachipf the shareholders, so-called, appeared to oppose the aopl ; ca'tion and to defend his title. To' do this 'the. original certificate of registration had to~ be 1 produced, and this was just what the claimant wanted, only he was so very " friendly" with the opposers that he couldn't dream of askiug for the document before the parties would be obliged to produce it in Court. When the certificate was examined it wasfound that one of the ob- ? jectors, who claimed his right by purchase from aa original shareholder, neglected to have his transfer endorsed upon the back- of it. This negligence was fatal, and the Bhar£ was forfeited in favor of the applicant. The man whose share the applicant was "advised" was forfeited through non-representa-tion proved that he was absent through illness, and this saved his property, while by bis own negligence the very particular friend of the jumper placed that cute individual^ in possession of a portion of a valuable claim. As a bystander remarked, "that claimant ' went' for a share, honestly if possible, but a share anyhow," and he got it. It is often remarked that drapers a l^ haberdashers, if their advertisements are to be believed, are always on the verge of ruin, and it is only by making "an alarming sacrifice " they can save themselves from imminent destruction or hopeless insolvency. Statements the like following, if true, will go far to accoant for the happy recoveries some of this class of tradesmen continually suffer. Lately a draper at Half-Ounce sued a female resident of that place last week for a small balance of account. The defendant pleaded that the plaintiff "need riot be so anxious about his paltry few shillings, for she had paid him nearly LIBOO within the last few years." On the plaintiff disputing this, the lady said, " she was ready to take her oath on the spot that she paid him more than a LIOOO on her ov> n account during the time mentioned." "iEgles" writes in the Australasian : — "There are occasional forecasts quite as curious as some considered big enough for the foundation of a new religious sect. On Saturday last an impulsive friend of mine was lunching with a party at the races, just before the start for the Autumn Handicap. A young lady said to my friend, "What horses are starting for this race ? Show me your race-card Mr Jones" (an assumed name, of course), After glancing (brightly) over the list of horses, the lady pointed to the name of one and said, "That will be the winner, You bad better go and back him." His betting-book being in rather a mixed condition; Mr Jones demurred. " Why do you fix on the Ace?" he asked. "I can't tellyou," said' the diviner. "1 dont know why, but I feel sure that he is going to win." The gallantry of Mr Jones is proverbial. He could not disregard the oracle. He did back "The Ace" three minutes -before the starter's flag dropped, and within ten minutes returned to lunch a winner of L3OOO. This is really useful kind of prophecy, worth cultivating in the spiritualistic lyceum. 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 fot them to reduce their present heavy stock to enable them to carry on alterations without inconvenience.— [Aovt.]