THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, JUNE 9, 1873.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1512, 9 June 1873, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, JUNE 9, 1873.

We are indebted to Mr Harrison for the information .. conveyed in the following telegram received by him from the Hon. the Premier yesterday; with regard to the proposed arrangements for the relief of the : financial difficulties of the' County of Westland: — " In : consideration of the special hardships to which Westland has been subjected. the Government intend to J ask the Assembly to authorise a loan of £50,000 to ; pay off the liabilities of the County, the, interest on the loan to be paid by. the Colony for ten years; the Government to take as security 250,000 acres of land." Whatever differences of opinion may exist upon the question whether the " County" system, as established in Westland has been any improvement upon the old Provincial constitution, ; there can certainly be no doubt whatever that the County has been placed in a most disadvantageous position, as compared with the other Provinces, by the alteration in the division of the Consolidated revenue. Formerly the Customs revenue was divided in certain proportions between the General Government and the Provinces ; and, of course, the greater the consumption of dutiable goods within its boundaries, the greater the amount of money each Province had to receive. The peculiar circumstances under which the West Coast' Gbld Fields were ••■ first settled '< were such that, under the old plan, the t local Governments of Westland and Nelson received a very large contribution from 'the , Colonial chest, because the population consisted mainly of adult males, and consumed a very disproportionate amount of articles paying high duties. But when Parliament decided to terminate the financial partnership between the Provinces and the Colony, the consequences were ' most * unequal. The substitution of the capitation contribution in the place of the old system of division had a most serious effect upon Westland. The immediate consequence was that whilst the County lost about ,£12,000 a year of revenue, Canterbury gained more than £20,000, although Westland was still compelled to contribute a large proportion of the charges for the Canterbury loans. MrVogelhas been very late in relieving the County. He was,' when Colonial Treasurer in, 1870, urged in : the strougest manner by the Westland members, both publicly in the House and privately, to ask Parliament to make an adjustment that -would place Westland in something like the same position as the other Provinces. But, he was then obdurate, and has only now. evinced a sense of the "hardships to which Westland has .been subjected." : The £50,000 which we may expect wi|l be given to the County is, of course, a Very great assistance, but the question ariseis, what is to be done in the future ? The advance promised by Mr Yogel is nominally amd actually for the only purpose of defraying existing liabilities — at any rate, there is no indication of an intention to give the County more revenue. Sup- : i posing the debts of Westland. to be all wiped out — is the normal revenue equal to the fulfilment of those active duties which the Government of a new and young County should perform ? We are afraid that the promised help will be only a relief, and will not materially alter the financial condition of the County. It is! a pity that the Government cannot make up its mind to deal with the question of what is to be done with the West Coast Gold Fields in a firmer spirit. ; . The solution of the problem is a mere matter of time, and the present, or some other Ministry, will havetasettleitbysomeother ; plah than by merely paying off its debts. Westland is pretty much in the condition of the immortal Micawber, who, when he had signed a promissory note, was in the habit of saying "thank Heaven that's paid." The proposed loan of £50,000 will just pay off its liabilities, and the County must begin at once to incur fresh ones, and in a year's time will be in as bad a mess as ever.

Among the recommendations of the Select Committee appointed to report upon. the Estimates recently submitted to the Nel-son-Provincial Council, was one suggesting that the Government make arrangements todispense with one of the Wardens on the South- West Gold Fields, Most of the recommendations' of the Committee were afterwards disposed of by the Council, but this one was, by the latest accounts to hand, still under discussion. The reason given for the proposed reduction in the number of Wardens was, that the Committee believed that the increased facilities for travelling now existing would enable one Warden to do all the inland work. This recommendation, if carried out,, will inflict a great injustice on the portion of the Nelson Gold Fields in the Grey district. Neither of the reasons given is support of this reduction are sufficient to justify the Government in acting upon the recommendation of the Committee. It cannot be said that any saving would be effected, for the large amount of extra "work thrown upon the remaining Wardens, would entail such an increased expenditure for travelling and other expenses, that, the salary of the Warden who was dispensed with would be only a trifling sum in comparison. We have it on good authority . that the County of Westland by reducing the number, of the Wardens, has not effected a"saving : at all commensurate with the inconvenience to the public caused by the increased amount of work thrown into the hands the present staff, in addition to their previous onerous duties, and it is a question if the working expenses of the Wardens' Department are at all reduced j in consequence of the change. The other i excuse of the Committee, that the in- .

creased facilities for travelling would enable one Warden to do the work which at present fully occupies the time and attention of two, will not stand the test of examination. The vast extent of country now under the charge of Messrs Whitefoord and Broad could not be efficiently attended to by one officer. Fr-om the Lyell to Lake Brunner, an,dj from Cobden to Lake Christabel, is comprised a stretch of country too extensive to be even imperfectly supervised by one Warden, unless, indeed, the present nature ef the duties of the Wardens underwent an entire alteration. The officer undertaking the task of administering the I affairs of such a district would of necessity be perpetually on the move, for the increased facilities for travelling are not yet advanced to that stage that he would be enabled to visit each place in rotation with any degree of certainty or regularity, unless he was continually travelling about. Speaking for the miners here, we maintain that the reduction is uncalled for, and would be prejudicial to their interests, for the district is so extensive and the centres of population are situated so widely apart that one Warden #nda more than sufficient work in looking after it. The reason the duties may appear light to superficial observers, is because of the efficiency and energy of the officer in charge of the. Grey Valley, whose special adaptability for the duties he has to perform enables him to get through the large amount of business connected with his position with a readines and dispatch which are truly surprising. Besides, the Grey district is too important, and contributes too large a proportion of the Provincial revenue, to admit of itsi nterests being handed over to the half attention of any officer, no matter how competent he may be. jt is not in this direction the Committee on the Estimates should seek for materials to operate upon, in carrying out their laudable desire for retrenchment in departmental expenditure.. There are offices nearer home which, with great benefit to the taxpayers, as well as to the I cause of common decency, might very well be abolished and no one would be the loser except the present holders of these sinecures. . It is not on this part of the gold fields the pruning knife is required, for there is not an overpaid and underworked official in the district. When we 3ee items of hundreds of pounds squandered and misappropriated — we had almost said embezzled — for obtaining bogus signatures to anti-separation petitions, and accounted for under the head, or tagged to the tail of "Contingencies," wo begin to discover where the' money goes to that should be spent on the, gold, fields. When his Honor the Superin- * tendent makes one of his royal progresses, an expenditure is made at so much per day for himself and his suite, which could very well be dispensed with for all the benefits the gold fields communities have ever reaped from any one of his Honor's visits. And as Mr William Gibbs, the Chairman of the Estimates Committee remarks, " it does not become the dignity of the Superintendent of the Province to put down such sums as L 2 odd for a constitutional drive up the ; Waimea road, to inspect a bridge," and then find the item charged twice as for travelling expenses in the convenient "contingent" account. Anyone who has noticed the reports of the proceedings of the Wardens' and Resident Magistrates' Courts in the Grey Valley, as they have appeared in this journal for the last few years, will have an idea of the amount of work and the responsible nature of the onerous duties performed by the Warden of the district. Courts were held at Ahaura, Napoleon Hill, Camptown, No Town, and Cobden, and, besides this, personal visits had to be made to decide disputes where they occurred, when it was found impossible to get sufficient evidence in the regular Courts. The population of the Grey District of the Nelson Gold Fields' is now estimated at upwards of 3000, and when the contemplated water supply scheme is fairly started, it is reasonable to suppose that the number will be at least doubled. Taking these circumstances into consideration, it must be admitted this district is of sufficient importance to justify the Government in retaining: the services of the Warden, " and the subjoined resolutions, passed at a large and influential public meeting held at No Town on the 6th inst., with reference to this subject, will show that the mining community, which is likely to be most effected by the proposed alteration, is j unanimously of opinion that the reduction would not be advisable. J. Th£s meeting views with concern the recommendation of the Select Committee to reduce the number of Wapd^ns on the SoutbWest Gold Fields, the present niimb^r'being barely adequate to the fulfilment of the duties they have to perform, . : 2. That at least one of the Grey Valley members should have been on the Committee, as such information could have been given showing the impossibility of one Warden being able satisfactory to do the inland work. These resolutions, which are signed by Mr George M'Beath. as Chairman of the meeting, have since : been forwarded to Messrs Guinness and Pinker ton, the members for the Grey Valley, for presentation to the Nelson Government, and we trust they will have the intended effect.

The sub-committees appointed to attend to the arrangements in connection with the Railway Demonstration met at Gilmer's Hotel on Saturday. There was a full attendance, and Mr Revell presided at botk committees. The fi rat business was the : reading of a telegram received by the Secretary from the Town Clerk of Hokitika, stating that his Worship tbe Mayor and the Councillors of that Borough bad accepted tbe invitation to be present at the ceremony. , The. luncheon committee reported that arrangements had been made with Messrs. Gilmer Brothers to provide the luncheon. The price of tickets was also fixed, Tbe ball committee reported that arrangements bad been concluded witb tbe same firm to supply everything necessary for tbe ball supper, and to provide the required accommodation for holding the ball. The terms agreed to between the committee and Messrs Gilmer Brothers were read over and confirmed. Tbe Secretary was requested to give the names of those to whom free tickets are to be presented, to Messrs Hamilton and Reid, and it was decided that all free tickets in excess of ten each for, the ball and luncheon should be paid for by the general committee. The arrangement of the toasts, &c, was left to the luncheon snbcommittee. 'i'he refreshment committee banded in the proposed bjll of fare for the free luncheon. The feast is to be a' formidable affair, judging from tbe immense quantities of bread and beef contracted for and presented by tradesmen. The list of " comforts" includes, among other trifles, 4501 b pt beef, 2 rounds of ditto, 2 shepp, 2 ox heads, .150 loaves of bread, and 3 hogsheads of beer. The committee appointed to see to the en-

tertainment of the children were instructed to bring up their report this evening. It was agreed that bis Worship the Mayor of Greymouth should be requested to proclaim Wednesday a public holiday, and the Secretary was asked to communicate with the beads of the public offices making a similar request. At the inquest on the remains of William . Glass, who was killed last week by the falling of a tree, on tbe Ajax claim, Murray Creek; the jury returned a verdict of accidental death. Glass was about 50 years of age, a Scotchman, and a widower, leaving children in Dunedin and Scotland. , It is notified that all dealers in kerosene are required to take out licenses forthwith, otherwise they will be summoned by Mr Inspector Davies. : A special meeting of tbe Greymouth Volunteer Fire Brigade will; be held at tbej Brigade Hall, this evening, at eight o'clock.. All the members are requested to, attend. , It is announced that Mr J. O. Abeam will take charge of St. Patrick's School, Greymouth, to-day. The intended course of instruction is varied and comprehensive, including a thorough English education, witb Latin, Greek, and tbe modern languages. In addition to the ordinary school instruction, it is proposed to form evening classes for pupils .under seventeen years old, and for those above that age, in certain days of the of tbe week. Adult pupils will be taught at their, residences, if required. : The arrange-ments-as tp the hours and times of ttiition appear to be .suitable, and the fees are vecy moderate.. A female assistant, teacher , ,wiu be provided. Mr Ahem comes here with good recommendations. He : is a graduate' 'i>i St. ; Patrick's . College, East Melbourne, a trained teacher, and was last in charge of a numerously-attended school at Belfast, in the Western district, Victoria. ' A number of Mr Ahern's former pupils have passed the matriculation and Civil Service examinations at the Melbourne University. ' With regard to the West Coast Railway, the Independent says that the public has been misled: as to the position taken up by the Government. Tbe arrangement made between the Government and tbe Nelson depu- ; tation was this :— lf tbe Provincial; Council of, Nelson should by resolution recommend the Government to make the line of railway, and should agree to set. aside sufficient land to cover the cost of the line, the General.Gp-: y eminent, would— after first insisting on a: thorough examination of the land proposed to be given as security, and if the land turned out to be of sufficient value to recoup the Colony for its liability— recommend the; Assembly to sanction the construction of the line; The Post says thatthe L 560 ,000 for the; construction of tbe West Coast line will be a new loan, requiring the' introduction of: a Railways Act Amendment Bill. ; We (Inangahua Herald) understand thaij the Rev. Father Rolland met with an acci-! dent while' travelling from '.'_] the Waimea on his recent visit to Westlanft.' : lt -appears that nightfall was approaching and be was leading bis horse through .the bush, being some little distance off the track, when the animal slipped, into an old shaft of considerable depth, and very nearly dragged Father Rolland down also. He escaped, however, with the loss of bis horse, and returned to Reefton on Thursday last. ; A female named Rice, who has given an infinite amount of trouble to the police of this district and on the up : river gold' fields,' was brought to Cobden yesterday in charge of Constable Clarke, of. No -Town; J She has only just been released from gaol after serving a long term of imprisonment, and she is novv to be incarcerated for some time longer, i A narrow escape 1 from' 'drowning occurred yesterday evening, in the part of the river opposite tbe end of Johnston street. A boat had just arrived from the North Spit, and one of tbe passengers, a female, in attempting to get ashore, slipped, and fell into the water. With some difficulty she-was fished up by tbe owner of the boat, bqt not before she received a good drenching as the effect of her involuntary "header." ' ; ; The result of tha Reefton 'Protective V/orks Committee meeting is, says tbe Herald, that a contract has been let to Mr Gardner to construct a groin 230 ft in length on the northern bank of the river near to tbe recent sea encroachment. A channel to be cut. within three days 20ft in width through the shingle bed, and open a passage for the river on the northern side, and opposite to the rocks some large timber is to be fallen up stream for tbe purpose of diverting" the current to tbe opposite bank. I The bon. member for Charleston, according to the Nelson correspondent of the Inangahua Herald, prefers paying, attention to his personal comfort to attending to the vulgar wants of his constituents. "Mr.. Guinness moved for a return showing whit amount of revenue is collected in- the settled districts and on the South-West Gold Fields respectively, also a statement' 'showing the actual amounts proposed to be paid in the ; said districts, and apportioning the departmental charges to each , separately. T^e motion was opposed by the Provinoial Secretary, who Jcontended that he could not well make out such return as that asked for. Mr Donne retired to the coffee-room while the motion was under discussion, and just previous to £he division was appealed to by i a Gold Fields member to some in and 1 vote, ; but he declined, and preferred to pay more justice to tbe inner man than his constituents. Truly, when the gold fields return a class of representatives of this character, no wonder their interests suffer." Tbe Nelson correspondent of the Inangafma ' Herald saj.s the public makes meiry at. the expense of tbe " objects of commiseration " who represent the Nelson Government in the Provincial Council :—." The two gentlemen who occupy the Government benches in the Provincial Council of Nelson, do npt reflect much credit upon the taste of his. Honor, neither of whom possesses argumentative or explanatory powers, and ace targets for tbe abuse of every member who is desirous of having a shot at the Government. These two men are more objects for commiseration than censure.; An,, 'irresistible smile •" passes oper the. countenance of, the audience : behind the bar, who assemble to enjoy themselves at the expense of the; public, in. the Provin.ci.al Hall, when a member 1 sarcastically implores .the Government not to advance any opposition to bis mobion. If a portraiture of the scenes enacted within the Provincial Hall could properly be placed before the General Assembly, with the animated (?) speeches of the tv/o gentlemen styling themselves the Government, the props now sustaining Provincial institutions ■\j/ould be immediately withdrawn, and the : Pedlingfcoq. Parliaments throughout New Zealand would tumble, never to be rebuilt. Tbe nominees of our Superintendent are likely to hold office so long as he shall con-i tinue to be chief ruler, wmcb I suppose •is for life or until the railway is made.' " . The following narrow escape is reported by the Observer as having occurred at the Arrow River, Otago: — "The other day a miner named Shields and a Mr FraSer were together near 'the hut of the former, when they saw a large stone detached from the 1 hill above hem, which bounding downwards crashed through Jihp hut, and passing through, fell into 'the river., in^anoth^i; 'ten mmutes, Shields and his mates \yould have been inside at dinner, and, had the ro ; ck goiiie 'dowp then, the consequences would no doubt have been fatal to one or more of them. ■'Shields thinks of clearing 1 bijit'.Qf 'that part;]"' ■ ' ;