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Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1522, 20 June 1873, Page 2

A mishap occurred in the conveyance of the mails from Hokitika to Greymouth yesterday, involving the delay of the Hokitika, Christchurch, and English letters. By some oversight the contractor at the Hokitika end of the road neglected to deliver one of the bags to the contractor between Greenstone and Greymouth. This particular bag happened to be the most important of the lot, containing as it did all the letters, including those received by the last Suez mail, and landed at Lyttelton by the s.s. Albion. Immediately on the bag being missed, the Postmaster here telegraphed to Hokitika, and ascertained how the mistake had occurred. It was subsequently arranged between the Department and the contractor that the bag should be at once forwarded, and it is believed that the complete mail will be received in Greymouth this morning by the ten o'clock "tram." The European papers came to hand last night. The Foresters meet to-night at the Lodge to elect officers. Dr Carr is announced to appear at Brimnerton, Maori Creek, and Marsden during the ensuing week, It is notified in that extensively distributed publication, the Nelson Gazette, and no doubt also in the Nelson papers, that the sections at Totara Flat, square 122, advertised to be offered at auction on the 27th inst., are withdrawn from sale. In Launceston a building has been roofed with Tasmanian slates. They are smooth, sound, and serviceable, equal to any imported from Wales. Our Hokitika contemporary, the Times, gives the following serio»cprnic account of some extraordinary discoveries in diet and ethics :— " We are informed that an enterprising citizen of Greymouth has opened a Temperance Hotel, where none but teetotal drinks are sold. Such houses have been iv existence in other parts 0? the colony for many years past, and we see no reason why Hokitika should be behind the times in providing for citizens and travellers proper accommodation, as a thing apart from intoxicating drinks. At several of the hotels in Greymouth, the landlords are beginning to recognise the fact that their oustoiaers do ! not require to be continually imbibing wine, beer, and spirits, and have made arrangements'by which visitors can obtain at any hour through the day or evening, cups of hot coffee at two minutes' notice. This fact is achieved by using 'condensed coffee' which is prepared with milk and sugar, and is sold in small tins. It appears to us that the innovation to which we refer is one worthy of attention, and as there are many persons whose business avocations oblige them to partake of a very .considerable number of drinks' through the day, it cannot be doubted but that coffee in such cases would be an agrpeable change from doubtful sherry, or * fighting brandy.' " Among the petitions presented to the Nelson Council there was one by Mr Pinkerton, from Messrs O'Malley and Anderson, for consideration for the discovery of a short track to Keefton. After several sittings of the Petitions Committee, with Mr Pmkerton in attendance, it was recommended — " That his Honor the Superintendent be requested to refer the matter of the petition of James O'Malley and James Anderson to the Warden of the district for enquiry." The recommendatipn was subsequently adopted by the Council. A divorce case, in which Eleanor Eyes was thp petitioner, and W. H, Eyeq was the respondent; 'was ljear.fi in the Supreme Gonrt, Picton, last week. The hearj ng lasted three days, Monday, Tuesday, and "Wednesday. Petitioner sued for judicial separation and maintenance, on the ground of adultery by respondent. The defence v/as a geperal denied, and that, $f thepe hg,d fcefin. any adultery, the offence had b.een condoned. The jury held that there had been, with Charlotte Johnstone, at Wellington and Picton, and that there had been no condonation on the part of the pefttjoner, Libel seems to be epidemic at Wanganui. At the present moment there are said to be three actions for libel pending, and probably two more to come, The late flood caused ranch mischief in the Upper duller and its tributaries. In the Matakitaki the flood reached a greater height than was ever before known. A good deal of fluming was swept away, and the road sustained some injury which has since been repaired. The Coloni.it gives the following account of Governor Fergusson's arrival at Nelson ;— A large assemblage of persons were present to greet his Excellency's arrival. The City Bines, Artillery, and Cadets mustered in considerable forces, Attd formed in line on the wharf ; those in the front ranks beincj supplied with lighted torches. As the steamer came alongside the wharf, Captain Pitt called . for three cheers for Sir James and Lady For. ;

gusson, which was heartily responded to by the spectators, and the Brass Band played the National Anthem. The Governor, who was on deck, repeatedly bowed his acknowledgment to the people. His Honor the Superintendent shortly afterwards went on board, and had an interview with his Excellency, who desired not to make an official landing. The Government steamer Luna arrived early on Saturday morning with the Hon. D. M'Lean, who came to meet the Governor. Sir James and suite immediately embarked, and the Luna steamed away for Wellington. The Nelson Council was prorogued on Friday, the 13th inst., when the Superintendent intimated his assent to the following Acts passed during the session : — An Act to amend the " Nelson Highways Act, 1872 ;" au Act to amend the "Impounding Act,. 1861 ;" an Act to amend the "Cattle Trespass Act ;" an Act to amend the " Education Act, 1863 ;" an Act to constitute districts within the Nelson Gold Fields, and to appropriate a portion of the Provincial revenue to the making and maintaining of Public Works therein ;an to appropriate the revenue of the Province of Nelson for the year ending the 31st day of March, 1874 His Honor reserved the following Act for the signification of the Governor's pleasure thereon :— An Act to alter the Electoral Districts, and number of members of the Provincial Council of Nelson. At length there is some clue to the fate of Mr Schafer, who disappeared so mysteriously from the neighborhood of Colling wood a few weeks ago, and of whom no trace could be found, although it was believed he had been drowned. On Wednenday last, says the Nelson Examiner, Mr David Allen, jun , walking along the beach near Collingwood, observed somathing dark lying on the sand, and on picking it up found it to be the waistcoat of Mr Schafer and his gold watch. Strange to say, the waisicoat was buttoned all but the lower button. The opinions which we ventured to express as to the wholesale system of supplementing the Estimates by the Nelson Council are confirmed by an article in the Colonist of Tuesday last. Our contemporary says : — " On this question of the Estimates, which is after all the chief subject with which the Council is called together to deal, there has, throughout the session been an entire disr«gard of the probable revenue in considering the numerous propositions for ' I additional votes. The Government permitted, with cynical carelessness, so complete as in i most cases to have prevented any protest however feeble, the Appropriation Act to be loaded with sums for works that are certain never to be executed from want of funds. At rare intervals some member would solemnly protest and warn the Council that they were virtually saying to the Executive, whatever income you receive, take and spend exactly as you like, and then . in a day or two the same member would be heard pleading for some small advantage, say a thousand or two for his own particular district. In fact the absence of-all resistance to these votes completely demoralised the Council, and caused, the addition of many thousands to a proposed expenditure at first brought down on a scale scarcely warranted by the prospect of revenue." From the Province of Hawke's Bay, small as it is, we have intelligence that its Superintendent can meet his Council and notify the fact that there is a comfortable credit balance in the banjf of L 53,000. A mooting of the Directors of the llanieri Lake Water-race Company was held at Hokitika on Wednesday. The County Chairman was present, and explained the result of his interview with the Government concerning the race. In the course of a discussion which ensued, a variety of matters of detail were satisfactorily arranged by the meeting, and among other things the dimensions of the race were agreed upon. On Thursday evening there was to be an extraordinary meeting of the Company, in the Town Hall, to consider the question of increasing the capital of the Company. The subscribed capital is required to be increased to LIO,OOO. The Graphic states that the present high prices of coal in England are not due to any deficiency in the supply, but to the existence of a "coal riug" in. the English market. The gentlemen who are alyays crying out against combination among the workmen are binding together themselves. A great many of the strikes are caused by a desire on the part of the pitmen to share in the plunder. A Paris correspondent writes ; — "The new law against drunkenness, which, fines the wine-shopkeeper for every client found intoxicated and incapable on his premises, has given rise to the spontaneous industry called the 'drunkard conductor,' or ' Japhet,' so named after the delicate conduct of that son towards his father, Noah, on a memorable occasion, when the patriarch took a little too much, wine for his stomach's sake. ' Japhet ' Js tho waiter that crutches old customers, that it is dangerous^ to refuse more than is good for them, as far as the bosom of their families. A casixal client, when he has drunk to a certain point, is unceremoniously shown the door, and left to complete his state at another wine-shop. Iv 1522, before the city barriers were abolished, ' Japhet ' was called the •' Guardian Angel, ' —had quite a circle of patrons whom he saw home at the rate of six sous per head." Mr T. Chennele, formerly resident at Invercargill, but now settled qn the Coast between Toi Tois and Waikawa, where, j.n conjunction with others, he has a gold mining claim, or lease, informs a Southland paper that his observation of the auriferous deposits In that looqlity has led him to th@ conclusion that the wind plays a mqre im» portant part in relation to them than it has yet received credit fov. He says :— " In meeting with black sand layers containing gold, almost on the summits of the sandhills, 1 used to wonder how they oame there -the hills being evidently the result of of wind-drifted sands. After some considera," tiou I account for it thus. During the prevalence of a very high wind, sand— both black and white, and a certain per centage of fine gold— is lifted from the beach and deposited inland as loose mounds. Here it rerriaiuq p^posod to the action of light winds from all quarters. Their effect 'is— the tejini most nearjy expresses my meaning — to f winnow ? off the lighter sand and leave that possessing the greatest specific gravity, of course including the gojd. .This process, I conceive, may continue until the mound is npply. flatm>od and jts sur±age covered with a thin layer of aurifepujs plack sand. The recurrence of a storm re-covers it, and the 'winnowing? process goes on again, until by some fortuitous cause the hillock is fixed by the presence of vegetation." Mr Chennel^' theory 19 fngenjous §nd well siu> ported. - "John Peerybingle," in- the Melbourne Telegraph, discourses thus about newspaper " Summaries :"— One of the greatest institutions, sir, of this pountry. pir, is the Summary for Europe I Every nian, sir, fn this. stupendous clime is naturally aware that once a month, if not oftener, Europe sits in 1 breathless impatience awaiting for our Summary. Every individual, Jadjes and gents, in this metropplis flf the gorgeous and mos-quito-bitten south knows, or ought to kpiow, that without our Summary, Europe would fade away, and get iniiced with Africa, or absorbed into the sleepfulness of Asia. Hegularly every four weeks the Czar of Russia calls for his boots and his Melbourne Summary, and if his serfs don't bring it in with his shaving-water, he has 'em boiled down right pff into Neva Stearine candjes ? and ex. :

ported to Australia. Every four weeks the Emperor of Prussia kicks Bismarck down stairs if he doesn't produce our Summary, and all the Potentates and Presidents that loaf about poor old Europe, and get their living in the show business, are equally ferocious if similarly provoked.