THE Grey River Argus. PUBLESHED DAILY. FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 1873.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1557, 1 August 1873, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLESHED DAILY. FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 1873.

The news of the total loss of the steamship Rangitoto will be heard of with regret by the many persons in New Zealand who have travelled by her, and who are acquainted with her commander and those belonging to his ship's company. This regret will be enhanced by the remembrance that Captain Mackie's bad fortune in the navigation of New Zealand waters does not commence with this disaster, he having, been in command of the steamship South Australian when she got stranded near the mouth of the Molyneux, on the coast of Otago, and became, like the Raugitoto, a total wreck; but it is some source of satisfaction that in neither instance has the accident been attended. by loss of life. From the brief account of the accident which we have only yet received, ii appears that the Rangitoto, which left Greymouth on Monday last, got on shore on the passage between Nelson and Wellington, or between Nelson and Picton, at the dangerous head-land which protrudes into the Straits on the north-western side of Queen Charlotte's Sound. The crew and passengers — the latter, we believe, including Mr Blackwood, one of the owners •if the vessel — were conveyed to Wellington by the steamship of the same name. In addition to the loss of the vessel, the disaster involves an interruption of the arrangements made for the despatch of the New Zealand mails for Europe, but we are informed by the local Postmaster, Mr M'Beth, that the Government have already entered into fresh arrangements by which the mails will be forwarded in sufficient time to reach Mel--1 bourne before the departure of the Suez steamer, though it will interfere with the designs of intending passengers from the West Coast. According to a telegram received byMrM'Beth la3t evening, the Government have arranged to intercept the. Alhambra at. Port Chalmers, and to despatch her direct from that port for Melbourne, with the mails which the Rangitoto had undertaken to convey. The present is the third disaster which Messrs M'Meckan, Blackwood, and Co. have had since they entered into the New Zealand trade— -the two previous losses being the wreck of the Oscar and the South Australian— but considering the length of time they have been engaged in the trade, the frequency of the trips which their vessels make, and the intricacies of the navigation of the New Zealand coast, and, as compared with the experience of other companies, they cannot be said to be exceptionally unfortunate. The Rangitoto, however, was one of the smartest vessels of the line, and it will take some money and wisdom of selection to adequately supply her place. Among the passengers by the Rangitoto, it may be mentioned, was Mr G. W. Moss, of Greymouth, who was proceeding to the principal towns of the Colony, with the view of promoting the enterprise undertaken by the Greymouth Coal Company. According to a telegram received from him, we understand that the wreck occurred at half-past six o'clock on Wednesday evening, and that the crew and passengers were readily transferred to the boatsj but were for several hours in the boats or on shore before they were picked up by the steamer Wellington. The samples of coal which Mr Moss had taken with him have in all probability been lost, and, from the tenor of the telegram, it is questionable if the passengers have been able to 3ave their personal luggage. By< a telegram received late last evening, we have the following further particulars of the disaster, and of the rescue of the passengers :— Wellington, 7.20 p.m. By the arrival of the s.s. Wellington at four o'clock intelligence of the total loss of the steamer Rangitoto, on the passage from Nejson to this port, was received. The Rangitoto left Nelson at one o'clock, passing through the French Pass. She was off Jackson's . Point about half an hour behind the Wellington. Captain Mackie having been, since the arrival of steamer at Hokitika, turned in, the steamer was in charge of the chief , officer. Jackson's Point was hugged too 'closely, and the steamer struck, bumping heavily. The. sea was quite calm. The •bottom of the vessel was stove in, and the fires were extinguished, the vessel making water at the rate of a foot per minute. Orders were given to drive her ashore, and there was barely sufficient steam to effect this. The place where she was beached is surmounted by inaccessible rocks, 800 ft high, her bows resting on a ledge of rocks, and her stern floating in ' deep water. The boats were lowered, and the greatest order prevailed. Mr Nancarrow and the second mate, with a boat's crew, started to meet the steamer Wellington, which was expected on her return trip down the ,- Sound from Picton. They succeeded in being picked < up by the steamer, which proceeded to

the scene of the* wreck. Two boats, filled chiefly with ladies and children, to the number of fifty-six, after lying by the ship for four hours proceeded up the Sound, landing at Turner's Station. On the arrival of the Wellington at the wreck, attention was drawn by the firing of guns and the burning of blue lights on the Rangitoto. Shortly after two boats came off from the wreck, containing a lady, children, and others who had not found room in the boats seeking refuge up the Sound. The Wellington approaching as closely as safety admitted to the wreck, the boats of both steamers were busy all night saving mails, passengers' baggage, and a portion of the cargo. Mr Blackwood was on board the steamer. Efforts to save everything possible were continued till eight this morning, at which hour, leaving some men still on board, removing goods to the boats, the Wellington steamed up the Sound to Little Cove. Shortly after this the castaways were taken on board, and the Wellington 3teamed to the wreck. She lay half an hour, until the steamer went down by the stern, the crew on board saving themselves by the boats. The crew were taken on board the Wellington, and, thus crowded, she steamed to this port about eleven o'clock. The Rangitoto's hull at the stern was three-fourths submerged, her bows resting on the ledge of rock, while the surface of the sea around was covered with floating cargo by the breaking up of the decks. The position of Jackson's Point i 3 exceedingly exposed, and any shift in the wind is likely soon to make all remains of the Rangitoto to disappear. The following are the names of the passengers — Mr and Mrs Pauling, four children, and servant, Mrs Hector, two children, and servant, Mrs Sharp and child, Mr and Mrs Gould, Misses Carandini, Jefferson, Perry, Barley, Frith, Amy Frith, Rev Mr and Mrs Kinnimount, Rev Mr Andrew, Messrs Nancarrow, Blackwood, Parker, M.G.A., G. Smith, Cunningham, Hill, M'Cabe, Jones, Davis, Bradshaw, and Munro. The passengers express themselves grateful, and with great warmth of feeling, respecting the kindness of Captain Carey, his officers, and men. An address was presented to Captain Carey by the passengers of the Rangitoto, and another by the passengers of the; Wellington.

A correspondent sends us the following : — vVhen it was announced that the road to the Omotumotu Creek from Greymoutb. was to be widened, and that a contract had been accepted and commenced, teamsters and coach proprietors, as well as the general public, were alike pleased. No one for a moment doubted that any widening would be made good otherwise than from the solid hill, so as to allow of drays passing each other when meeting on the road, and it was most certainly understood by many of the tenderers that such was to be the case. That this should have been done to render the widening of the road of any good to the public is evident to anyone who takes the trouble to look for himself, and still more evident it is to such a one if he has any perceptive faculties to see that the work is being performed to " widening " of the road without the least benefit being afforded to the travelling community. In order to carry out his contract to the latter, the contractor has simply removed the road deposits from the hill from the channel way, and carried them across to the outer bank of the road, simply making what was precipitous previously more precipitous still. No dray, horse, or waggon could possibly stand upon some portions of this newly-made road, and the metalling is — well, no more need be said ; let people go, look, and judge for themselves. - The churchwardens of Trinity Church will be in attendance to-day at the Church, between the hours of 4 and 5 and 8 and 9 p.m., for the purpose of re-letting the sittings. At the land sale at Hokitika, yesterday, the only four "remaining quarter-acre sections unsold in the town of Greymouth were disposed of at the following prices :— Section 462, L 27 ; 463, L 33 ; 464, L4O ; 465, L 52, thus realising Llsu per acre. Mr J. T. Edwards has been appointed Resident Magistrate in the district of Wanganui. Captain Hutton, F.G.S., having resigned his appointment as Assistant Geologist to the Geological Survey of New Zealand, the governors of the Wellington College have secured his services as . Professor of Natural Science to that institution. We are requested to call attention to the fact that Messrs D. Maclean and Co. sell to-day by auction, at noon, the hotel and other property in the assigned estate of Mr James Johnston. This sale is one of the most important that has taken place in town, as the estate includes the Melbourne Hotel, a five-roomed cottage and ground, the lease of the Family ffotel, the lease of a section, and the sale of the furniture. The anniversary ball in connection with J the Red Jack's Friendly Society was held on the 11th of July, in Mr Flynn's billiardroom, which was tastefully decorated for the occasion by Professor Joseph. Dancing commenced at eight o'clock, and was continued with animation till half-past twelve, when supper was announced. About fifteen ladies and sixty gentlemen sat down to discuss the merits of the good things placed before them, which were universally pronounced excellent. Mr Foxcroft, having been voted to the chair, at the usual time called upon the company to fill their glasses, and first proposed the toast of "The Queen," which was duly honored. The Chairman next proposed "Success to the Red Jack's Friendly Society," coupled with the name of the secretary, which was drunk with acclamation. Mr Flynn suitably responded, and proposed the "Members of Committee," coupled with the name of the treasurer, Mr Frankpitt, by whom it was duly acknowledged. The next toast from the Chair was "The Ladies," which was most enthusiastically received, and eloquently responded to by Dr Gratten, who said, in the course of his remarks, " that very few of us would be here to-night, or in fact anywhere else were it not for the ladies." Dancing again commenced, and was vigorously kept up till daylight. At intervals there were some capital songs rendered by Messrs M'Cormick and others, which contributed very much towards the entertainment of the night. Very great credit is due to George the cook for the manner in which he performed his part of ' the business, as also the musician, and, in a word, to all concerned. The proceeds wilY in the first instance, go to augment the funds of the society. Socially, the ball was a decided success, which was the primary object in view. Everything passed off quietly, and so ended the third anniversary of the Red Jack's Friendly Society. Writing regarding the proposed removal oi the head-quarters of certain mining companies from Reefton to Greymouth and Hokitika, the Inangahua Herald brings a very serious charge against a number of shareholders in this town. The^writer says :— " Nor are the actions of certain directors of companies altogether beyond reproach if there is any foundation for the allegations

contained in a letter published in the West Coast Times referring to a meeting of shareholders, held at Greymouth, for the purpose of electing directors. The writer states that the old directors, whom it was desired to remove, together with their supporters, divided their interests and made ( bogus' transfers of shares in order to secure their re-election. As a matter of fact it is known that the company in question did not give such publicity to the intended meeting as its importance demanded, and this omission is quite consistent with the charges made by • Shareholder.' Neither in the circumstances recently attending the dissolution of the Band of Hope Gold Mining Company has the action of certain shareholders in Greymouth, whose eligibility as resident* directors would ! not be called in question, been at all calculated to inspire confidence. We refer to the transfer of shares to dummies immediately upon its having become known that the company would have to be wound up. It was sought under these transfers to shield themselves from all further responsibility in respect to the payment of capital not called up, utterly regardless of the possible ruinous consequences to more scrupulous shareholders ; but we are happy to learn that a legal opinion has been expressed that the indications of fraud are sufficient to justify their being reinstated as shareholders of the company to the full extent of their shares." The following is the mining manager's report of the Wealth of Nations claim, Inangahua, for the month ending 25th July, 1873: — "During the past month there has been sent down to the lower paddock from the mine 390 tons of stone, 350 tons of which was taken from the various spurs on the east side of the lower tunnel, and the balance from the large reef to the west of the tunnel. I am at present breaking through the west reef in two different places, 70ft apart, and although in one place we have driven 12ft into the solid reef we have not yet touched the west wall. This reef is very hard and compact, with a well-defined wall on the east side, and has every appearance of a permanent reef with gold fairly distributed through it, and during the last two days the stone from one of the drives shows better than any stone seen for tha past two months. In the course of a few days I shall have room to put more of the hands on this stone, when I expect to show an improvement in the yield. The machine has not put through the usual quantity of stone the last month on account of the stamp-heads wearing lighter and an unusual amount of stoppages. — R. E. Gulline, Mining Manager." i From the West-Otago Gold-fields we learn that, in connection with Mr Macandrew's railway programme for Otago, one of its rather remarkable features is his proposing a line of railway from Riverton to Orepuki — the westermost gold-field of his Province. Orepuki has been a neglected gold-field in Southland for the last seven or eight years ; in fact, the only gold-field that Southland possesses. This proposal of Mr Macandrew's may not appear at the first glance worthj of special commendation, but it is part of his Western Provincial policy. Another goldfield is supposed to exist in Otago, west of the Waiau River, south of the Te Anau Lake ; and Dr Hector supports the truthfulness of this hypothesis. Valuable lignite beds, of a superior quality, are found at Orepuki, and by this means of proposed communication, will be enabled to be shipped at Jacob's Biver. The whole of the country in this locality abounds with timber of the various kinds found on the western coast of tbe Middle Island The. timber trade from Invercargill already forms no unimportant article of export to Melbourne and Sydney. In thus piercing and opening up an almost unprospected auriferous country, rich in minerals of many kinds, it is to be hoped Mr Macandrew may be more successful than he has been in his experiment at Martin's Bay. Twenty-two hundred ounces of squeezed amalgam, the result of a partial cleaning up after three weeks and three days' crushing have been obtained from the Golden Fleece Clain 1 , Inangahua. Of the quantity no less than 120i)oz were obtained from the stamper boxes, so that the entire parcel should yield a very high average of melted gold— probably not less than forty per cent. At this rate of computation the result will be 880oz of gold for three and a half weeks' crushing. Excellent news comes to hand from Boatman's, a few weeks' prospecting by Mathew I Byrne and another having thus far resulted in magnificent stone being disclosed, and a 1 good body of reef in Chaplin's lease better known as "The Hopeful," at a distance of five feet from the southern boundary of Byrne's or the " Alexandra " lease. Stbne says the Inangahua Herald, was visible on the surface which the party followed down to a depth of twelve feet, where the reef thickened to four feet, showing very good gold indeed. Specimen stone from the best parts of the reef has been brought into town, and shows remarkably well, rings of coarse gold encircling the specimens, and if the general body of stone carry but little even of the metal, it should crush very well indeed. The entire proceeds of the auction sale by Mr Richard Reeves, at Reefton, it is said, on Saturday last, of the Band of Hope claim, tramway, tools, &c, realised some LIBO. The company's lease was purchased by Mr Trennery for LlO ; and he bought also nearly all the property offered. ; ;

From the West Coast Times we learn that a meeting of the brethren of the Masonic craft, which included representatives of all the lodges in Westland, was held last Monday evening, in the Masonic Hall, Re veil street. Considering the short notice given, and the inclemency of the weather, the meeting was very well attended. Its purpose was to present to the Right Worshipful District Grand Master, Brother Lazar, a testimonial in recognition of the many services he has rendered to Masonry in general, and to the various lodges in the Westland district in particular, and also in token of the esteem in which he is held by all connected with the craft. The presentation in this instance did not take the form of a Masonic jewel, as is customary generally on occasions of this kind, it being thought that Brother Lazar already possessed an ample number of such tokens of fraternal regard. It was therefore considered more 1 advisable that the gift should consist of- a purse of sovereigns, and accordingly the Worshipful Deputy Grand Master, Brother Harvey, presented to the R.W.D.G.M. Bro. Lazar, a purse containing the handsome sum of Ll2O. In making the presentation, JBro. Harvey spoke in the highest terms of the many service rendered to Freemasonry by Bro. Lazar in the Colonies for nearly forty years, during which period he had been connected with the craft in the various places in which he had from time to time resided, holding in them high and responsible offices. Bro. Lazar replied, after • which a banquet was held in his honor. Dr Bright's Phosphodyne.— Multitudes of people are hopelessly suffering from Debility, Nervous and Liver Complaints, Depression of Spirits, Delusions, Unfitness for Business or Study, Failure of Hearing Sight, and Memory, Lassitude, Want of Power, &c, whose cases admit of a permanent cure by the new remedy Phosphodyne (Ozonic Oxygen), which at once allays all irritation and excitement, imparts new energy and life to the enfeebled constitution, and rapidly cures every stage of these hitherto incurable and distressing maladies. Sold by all Chemists and "Storekeepers throughout the Colonies, from whom pamphlets containing testimonials may be obtained. Caution— Be particular to ask for Dr Bright's.