THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 1873.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1561, 6 August 1873, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY . WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 1873.

The reply /given by the Premier -to the question which was' put by his predecessor as to.the intentions of the Government

in,, the^matter/l'eayes.; little ;doubt as to

there beiug,i for this session: aileast, no attempt' made.in the direction t»f amending and consolidating the various and imperfect ..Hcensinijjavv.s which are at present in force in the Colony. -The words of Mr Yogel were that, with respect to introducing 'any fresh measure [during; the present session, ,he could give no promises; but he might say that, if that could not be done, the Government would brihg one ;■ down' next: session. A very moderate acquaintance with the proceed: ings of Parliament in the past justifies the' concliVsidrithatj instead of the" "if," a negative reply might have been given at once^ for. any measure: 6n.thi3 particular question could' only be a crude one, if it were.to be prepared, at this. period, of r the session, and its almost , certain fate would be' to become, a' passive 'participator; ,in the .massacre of the innocents. • Publicans and the public may, therefore, accept it as a strong probability that the advantages or disadvantages of the, present system, whichever they may consider, it to possess, will be prolonged for one year more. As to this prospect there will probably be a mixed feeling. Those : who are engaged in the liquor trade partially, as hotel-keepers, or as owners or occupants of legitimate places of public resort, and who desire to cenduct their fairly towards themselves and the public^, wUl^n'o doubt, unite with the latter in desiring to see ?» change from the> present system, , .or series, of , systems, as speedily, ab possible. ■■• Others will care as little, for, , a change; as they, care much and only for the," change"* of their i customers, anticipating! that any alteration in the right direction will prevent them from the further exercise of 'their ignoble business, ,of .giving as little and as bad liquor as they can, for as much money as they can get. It seems certain, however, that, with:. the late Premier's energies devoted to- the subject as - they are, and with the sympathies . .of the Government enlisted to'a large' extent, the next session .will; see a Bill introduced which will effect a very sweeping reform. A somewhat' full summary of the views of the Government on ; ihe subject has already been, communicated to the ipublic in these parts by >the Press telegrams, but, interesting as it is in such a community as this,' or in any other community oj-victuallers-end consumers, or of so-called victuallers and victims, these views may with propriety be published in detail. These views we find, most fully. expressed in the Hansard reports now to hand, and in the reply referred to as having been given by Mr ■ Yogel. Premising that their views were of an' entirely; opposite 1 nature to ttiose of J Mr Fox, as embodied in the Bill intrddtfced' last ,'yearj Mr Yogel gave the fbllJwing 1 outline' of the Government's intentions :— I.M ";■■■:■■

" They thought that it was very much required, and in fact demanded, that there, should be an improvement of the condition. of the present licensed houses. They were willing to go to the fall extent of the views of the honorable 1 member for Rangitikei on the subject of adulteration. Tliey-thought no- penalty- could be too severe upon persons who sold, what, he could not otherwise characterise 1 than absolute poison. But their view on the subject of ithprbvirigthe manner in which public-houses were conducted, was not to place such restrictions in the way of the owners as to make their property com--paratively valueless, and therefore render it undesirable to, invest, capital in such property. „ Qn the contrary, they.considered 'it 1 desirable tb ! encourage— or; he he j might aay, to force— the proprietors of those houses to make such improvements, year, by. year, or, period ,by. period, as the district in' which'they were'sirua'ted might require. They thought 1 it should not be an easy matter, to obtain licences for new houses. They thought the houses already licensed frr populated districts should be so improvedi as to -meet increasing • requirements instead' : of granting 'new licenses, and he would state 'generally the conditions : of the '-measure which the Government deemed desirable. First ■ihey j recognised that the present systeftr'of' granting licenses by unpaid Justices did not work wellj 'They could not'fa'il ! to observe the fact that on becasipns of granting licenses the' "Bench was much more fully occupied than on other., occasions, and they ;were quite agreed , phat the wholej charge of granting licenses should be taken out of the hands of the Magistrates. They were' willing, to < see Commissioners appointedj ;r whose special duty it should be to* watch over and inspect all the:license,d houses,; andin whose power it should be to require that those hpuses should; be from time to time: imr proved, in accordance with what might be considered to be the requirements of the district. It was propqsed that these Commissioners should have power to give notice requiring certain improvements to -be made, for which, a suitable time would of course be allowed. It was also proposed that there should be a power of - appeal from their decision, because it was only propefrthat when^they invested these Commissioners withi ivery large powers, .persons who migh t t. imagine, { themselves aggrieved shp.uld.haye, the, right of y appeal. The Commissioners should haVe power to suspend; or take, away license?, and generally to, enforce the provisions of the Act which had lately' come into. pperation:at,hpme. -.• . T-hey proposed; that the Commissioners; should have ;power to ■ grant fresh licenses ..only when there should appear to be a necessity for them. One of the great causes which tended unduly to (increase licensed houses was this . : that persons had no means ;of knowing whether: licenses would: be granted until they had 1 gone to the expense of erecting the houses, and when they had gone to that expense, it was generally the case that their applications interested not only the persons themselves,, but also a number of other persons, such as those who owned the land upon which the ; house ■ were; erected, the builders of the housesj and so on. The Government thought that it would be desirable that persons who wished to : erect -new public houses or hotels should have the "Opportunity of Submitting .their plans to the Commis-, isioners before : proceeding to the ereetion 1 of the houses, so as to ascertain the views ]of the,. i? ! o™'™wß.ip.f'6rs. i '\u'ppia/..tt'e|s.u'bject. i . jThey also thought that there should ba a power to grant license's' for family hotels iwithout bars in connection' with themf also to prescribe the conditipns [upon ; which open ' bars should be cohj ducted. Great encouragement should, 'likewise be given to erectirig 'working' i men's . plubs, where the members^could; iobtain such drinks as they required, land where they would themselves have 1 change ;of the conduct of the houses. As jhe had already stated, the Government • went to the 1 fullest extent with; the hpn- ] orable gentleman in the direction of putiting down adulteration,' and he might • further add that they proposed that revenue derived from licenses should still i continue to' be provincial revenue. He i would in conclusion observe that the ten- | dency of the Government proposal would ;be to make fresh licenses more. difficult to •■ obtain, and to increase the value of existjing licenses, thus inducing. persons to im- ! prove their property, knowing that if they ; failed to do so they would lose their ; licenses.:. This would make property in hotels much more valuable, and if the \ provincial revenue lost through the limi- ■ tatipn to granting new licenses, it might '■. very well be supplemented by an increase ;in the cost of existing licenses. These 1 were the views of the Government upon ■the subject, and if they were not exactly in accordance with the Bill introduced: last session by the honorable member who now put the question, they had the same end in view — the improvement of the character of public houses." ' ' 'I

One of those meetings at which, the temporal and spiritual are successfully combined— ajchurch tea-meeting-r-rwas held in the Presbyterian Church last evening. The ; meeting was held in connection with the Sunday School, and the attendance of children. who are scholars, or who are Sunday scholars elsewhere, with their parents and! friends,, was. so numerous that thefloorspace of the church, was scarcely adequate^ or their accommodation. The programme of. such, meetings is pretty, well known. There were tables, of course— -no fictions', but broad facts extensively furnished with the requisite china, wire, its appropriate content's, arid their accompaniments. ' Ladies of the congregation —Mrs "Glennj- Mrs Reid; Mrs (Dickson, and Misses Moutray, Kittelty, Hunter, and Par-, kinson— presided at these. Ei ' cetera. The minister of, the church, the Rev. Mr M 'Intosh, presided over all present, and addressed them briefly at the beginning and the end. Addresses were also delivered by Mr Savage, the Superintendent of the Sundayschool, by, the lie v. Mr M'Nichol, of the Wesleyan Church, and the Rev: Mr Kirkland, of Hokitika. and by Mr Geisow and Mr M 'Lean (Reef ton); To the ladies, the speakers, the choir, and those belonging to other congregations, thanks' were, in the usual hearty, youthful fashion, given on the motion of Messrs Anderson; Uleniv M'Gregor, and Moutray, and the pleasant party parted.

Since the' connection of Greymouth with the country by. roads, there has been an extensive and. increasing traffic with wheeled vehicles, and the aspect of the streets ia nowvery different from what it was not many months ago. Waggons, drays, coaches, jinkers, buggies, and other. forms of wheeled vehicles are weekly becoming more numerous, and by each vessel from Melbourne there are additional importations — some importing the fancy article, and others the substantial for

the conveyance of goods and timber, the export of the latter becoming an important itiem of trade. ■ New buildings continue* to increase in number in different parts of the town,; and the frontage along Mawhera Quay is being economised by the division of buildings and the erection of others— among the latter a \ large hotel being built by Mr Hungerford. :The i buildings in other parjbs. "include one pi prominence by the nature of the industry which it represents — to wit, a foundry which is being "'established by Mr Sewell;" engineer. In Mackay street, the : most recent addition to its architecture — Messrs Thompson, Smith, and Barkley's brick store— is now externally completed, presenting a Portland cement front of handsome design. Cobden seems to be following suit, there being at least two jnew buildings in construction, one looming (largely above all earlier structures. It should have been stated, in our paragraph relating to the committal , of Peter iMulvey, at the Ahaura, for shooting with intent, that bail was refused, and that the prisoner was conveyed down to Cbbden yesterday, on his way to Hokitika, where his, trial takes place. .' • In the District Court, Hokitika, pn Monday, Hans Hansen, alias James Gardner, was indicted for breaking out of the lower' gaol, Hokitika. The prisoner was found guilty, and he was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment with hard iabor, and ordered to pay L 5 for damage done. According to the report of the Register, the prisoner made 'a long statement, resting his defence chiefly on the grounds, first that he was not in lawful custody, and second that he was not at the time responsible for his: actions. He laid great stress on the face that the Magistrate who committed, him ,f or trial did no,tJipld;' the. opinion that hie was legally commitf;ed. He called Dr Dermott for tbedefeuce, who said the prisoner was 1 suffering from the .effects of drink, but knew what he was doing. His Honor, in summing up, admonished the t jury not to take thelaw, of the case from the Magistrate who committed the prisoner, but from him. Whether the charge under which> the prisoner was arrested was illegal, withdrawp, ;Or dismissed, mattered; little, seeijnig that when he escaped he was in legal custody. The question of the strength or fitness of the gaol for safe custody had nothing to do with the matter. With regard to the second point raised by the prisoner, that he was not responsible for his actions, that was no defence. Judge Harvey, in the District v Conrt at Hokitika, has suspended , the certificates i of two bankrupts for three years in each-c ase. In the first case the bankrupt,. James Boyle, who had been working as a miner at Possj ! , was examined at considerable length by his Honor in respect to some property which the bankrupt had transferred before his bankruptcy, and under suspicious circumstances, to a man named Doughty. His Honor said that the case was grossly fraudulent." -In the second case, the bankrupt, James Hyndman,: was examined in respect to the transfer of a share in a mining claim at Ross. It was: elicited that he had been getting an average of L 2 per week from his share in the claim, and yet he had sold that share to his brother-in-law for L 2. Bankrupt also stated that out of the L 2, he had to pay his share of the liabilities, which brought the amount which his 'share realised to ss. He admitted that he continued working in the claim after he had sold his share, taking the dividends in payment for his work, but he asserted that his brotherrin-layr had the right to enter into possession of the share when he pleased. The share had since been sold by the trustee, and had realised L 57. His Sonor said that he' had had several cases before him from Eoss in which the parties were still enjoying the ( fruits of property they pretended to have Isold. This was one class of the frauds I practised upon creditors. The present case 'was one of the worst of the kind. '

The Tuapeka Times says that the laboring i men in that district are " cheeky " on übeir !8s l .a'dayr l;;; "- i ' ■ ' ':.■'■-■' ; \. : ' ' : : '/' : '' ' " Captain •Daggetfy of the schooner Quick-; jstep, is reported to. be. killed by Launa I natives. • : ' ! At .the dinner which followed the plough: ; ing match at .Wai tahuna a few days ago, Mr I L. ,C. Holmes defined the term " clodocrat '."' Ito mean , ' ' one . who , converts the clods , into Igrpundifit 'to produce food for man and! i beast," and consequently to be a title of j honor. ' ; • Mri Caleb Moore, Dunedin, met with a j severe accident on July 30. His horse fell I and rolled over him, breaking his ankle. He also sustained other, injuries. An unusual thing occurred at the election for Mayor at- Cromwell. Each of the candi-; dates polled fifty votes, and a fresh election I had to take place in . consequence. . The hews that the Provincial Government had raised the price of land in Southland to ! L 3 an acre was received with great satisfacI tion in InvercargilL That step was taken I just in time, as the squatters were fairly rushing the Local Land Board with applicaI tions to purchase large blocks of land. : As an indication of the value of land in ! Titnaru, the Herald says that a quarter-acre i section has been bought for Bank purposes ■ by Mr Cobb, Manager of the Union Bank of 1 Australia, Christchurch, for LSOO. This section was bought by the vendor, Mr Jonas, i for L2OO a few months back. Mr Prosser, a candidate for election as \ Councillor for one of the: Dunedin Wards, referred in one of his speeches to a not uncpm-, mon grievance. He remarked that it was. , rather unfortunate for him that, on every occasion on which he appeared before the electprs, Mr Fislaknew his business better than he did himself. This was the second time Mr Fish made charges against him that : were not founded on fact. s For four years he had been Councillor on the West Coast, and was twice elected Mayor there, and had always done his duty towards his constituents. •- ■'■„.-■' The New Zealand Herald thinks that the General Government might, with advantage to the Colony, expend upon Fire Brigades, in encouraging efficiency in their work,; much of the sums that are lavished upon Eifle Volunteers, and witl so little tangible result accruing, ..... ' ■ : A small party started up the Hokitika river on Monday to test some quartz at a place some seventeen miles up the- stream, where one of the party had discovered stone in. which gold was plainly discernible all over, though in very fine particles. "Oldßinks" is an acquaintancn of the Canterbury Press "Loafer in the Street." who thus writes about him :— Old Binks is perhaps as sober aid steady an old file as ever earned a hard^ livelihood by trying to exist in this cheerful weather, but he got overtaken the other, day. He don't drink much, but hie likes it good. He went round sampling whiskies at different spirit stores till it produced an effect on him. He was, to use his own wirds, "perfectly compos, sir ; perfectly compos ;" but he forgot his own name. Hewasnot aware of this until he went to call on rather a steep business man. The business man was not in, arid Bihks was asked to leave his name. Binks had quite forgo tt'eu it, and retired in confusion. A few yards from the door he met a friend, who said, "Binks, old stick, how are you?" la a pevfect spasm of joy the old stick went back into the office of the steep business man, and said to the clerk, "I, say. jest you tell the Oovner that his 'ole frien' Binks called."

Mr Edward Reading, a dentist in Sydney, has just patented t process of treating quartz which he profe'sseswill prove more successful than that usually employed. Roasting isj of course, a process familiar enough, but his »

novelty consists of plunging the quartz,-. while : red-hot, into an acid bath. The result is: said to be not only 1 that the sulphur and arsenic are largely got rid of in the roasting^ and the molecular adhesion of the quartz' j loosenei, but the acid oxidises the iron contained in the pyrites,' and partly decomposes the stone . itself. The material is rendered very "brittle, and when treated in aChilian mill .gives up nearly all its gold. Mr Reading's estimate is that stone may be thus treated at 25s a ton, as the appliances at the pit's-mouth^may-be adapted -to -the-daily. production, and so keep pace with ,the underground working^. ; ; ' ■ ' ' '•' : ■" ' ' iUi