THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1873.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1623, 17 October 1873, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1873.

Th6ugh the journey, from Greymouth to the locality of its coal-mines, even by the circuitous route along which the new road was necessarily taken, is only some seven miles in length, athere are to be seen in that short distance many and marked signs of the material improvement which the district as a whole is undergoing, not so much through the development of its auriferous deposits, as through the initia- . tion of that system of public works which forms part of the policy of the present Superficially this portion of the district is, perhaps, the poorest sample that could be seen, consisting as it does' ., partially of a sloppy slope from the Limestone Range, and partially of swnmp and, shingle-bed, the not very ancient relics of some of the (Vagaries of the river Grey ; but, with all its natural disadvantages, it is gratifying ttr notice tfyat numerous and; increasing efforts are being made to render it suitable for settlement, and to take advantage of the facilities which are being supplied by the construction of road and rail. These signs of improvement are, indeed, visible, before Greymouth itself is Quitted, and before the site of the suburb of Omoturabtu) that is to be some day) is reached ; such signs taking the shape of new or improved hotels and stores jn the upper part of the township, and new cottages in all conceivable corners of that atrociously planned portion of the' Maori Reserve. Atrociously planned we say it is, because, by the prevalence of narrow streets and rights»of> way, anything but a favorable sanitary condition of the town is likely to be fostered, ! and because for; the. site of a railway station the facilities of approach are anything but suitable, while no disposition is shown by the Native Commissioner or others to improve them.. Immediately outside of Greymbuth, highly unfavorable as the'sittiation is for aught but. the ( enjoyment of the picturesque, the primitive settlers: are improving their more or less perpendicular properties ; others are fol- , lowing their example by clearing- all such spots as may sustain a cow in milk and on its legs ; while in : one instance the pleasures' of a rustic retreat are combined with the profession of surveying, and in others with the licensed sale of spirituous liquors. Shortly, it may be said that, for both man and beast, there is, if nothing else,, an abundance of the amenities enjoyed by Pat's cow' on the mountain-top — " plenty of -water, and a good view." One prominent peculiarity of; this part of the route isunfortunately theextremeliability of the nervous, benighted, or besotted travellerto come to some sad end of his day's and life's journey through the extreme but necessary narrowness ! of ; the' road, with the presence of precipices on tho one hand .and,, of,. quagmires.; on: the other. .Fortunately no serious accident ; has yet oc- ' burred by ; either waggon or wight being precipitated, towards or into the fiver, •but it is pitiful to see the occasional laj>o'r and risk ; incurred by heavily-laden drayjs sinking/into the 'soft earth when injcautiously driven in the safer direction off the exact /("crown or ; the cause-way," and,, for the safety of life or limb from any slip happening towards the exposed side of the road, it is expedient that some plan of fencing should be adopted, qtherjwise the occurrence of some serious'accijdent, is -only a question, of time.., It is at this'poirit of the railway route where the skill , of the engineer has been most; tried!, and where thelabor. of the contractor is now being irio'st exercised, with somewhat questionable result, for the physical diffi; culties'are considerable, and, as aninsti-. tution,-; rather given to -permanence by the paradoxical fact that the greund;is constantly on the move. Howeverj by culverts in some situations and parallel stone work in others, the major difficulties' may overcome^ and 'in the meantime thej contractor is proceeding steadily with some of the heaviest cuttings and embankments: on xthe line, the two dif-i ferent descriptions of work being rather in favorable .proximity for their economical completion. From near the probable site of the first , railway, station, whither, by. another year, 1 thousands are likely to be I conveyed at racing! time, the road and the rail, pease to be parallel, but they meet again at a point where timbered sbingleflae r falcertne place- of timbered slope, and where the substitution of any other form of vegetation than timber seems to be an exceedingly, doubtful experiment. Restricted to the road though the traveller ia, .he need .not find it monotonous/ if he is possessed of currency and companions, for hostelries have' been erected at shorter intervals than is; absolutely necessary or likely to be profitable either to the purveyor or the 1 way-farer who' is not by habit or disposition a " passer : by.''. One variety to the architecture .of the road-Bide consists of some ■, extensive .cattle-yards which are being enclosed, it is said, for Messrs Mark Sprot and Co., and an extensive contributor to the architecture of the entire district exists, some distance further on, in the form of Messrs Wickes and Wilson's saw-mills. . These, with their machinery for creating planed, tongued-and-grooved, and beaded planks, eb Hoc, constitute, to the practically;minded, a tempting digression from the roadside, arid are easily reached, ; riverwards, by a well-carpeted tramway which also leads as far in the opposite direction by a bee-line through pleasant sylvan scenery towards territory which awaits and; invites settlement. From this point, away past Rocky Island, and as far as Wallsend, as some imitative genius has designated a hotel in proximity to the coal-mines,, road and railway, are close competitors for the occupation of all the

level country^ and.occasionally "change aides'' with a quickness somewhat con-, fusing. Here the formation of the railway line is rapidly approaching | completion, with the effect, of furnishing , the wayfarer' with a cheering quantity of clear sky, and the contiguous ground with an immense quantity of fallen timber, eminently calculated to figure extensively in a fire or on the surface waters of the first flood. The line terminates in aTtownship which has not yet been named— the counter-part of Brunrierton in situation, though superior in climate and kindred amenities — nor need it be named until the enterprise of the Greymouth Coal Company, of •which it is the immediate scene, takes more perfect shape and proves to be all, or less or more than all that is confidently expected. In that interval, a few further notes may with propriety be made as to the Company's project, prospects, and proceedings in developing what is really the one great resource of the district and the reason for the existence of the railway.

In consquence of the original wording of the clauses relating to tonnage rates which were adopted by the Borough Council at its last meeting, considerable misaprpehension has arisen, and it would be satisfactory, in the best interests of the port and its primary; trade, that every clause and item of the tariff, with such changes as it may involve, should be fully explained. Apropos of this subject, and in justice to members of the Council, it ought to be stated that, at the last meeting, Councillor Kerr proposed the postponement of the Committee's , report, with a view to its being laid on the table for reference, and that this was supported by Messrs Smith and Reid. Upon a vote, being taken, however, it was resolved to proceed with the consideration of the report at once/ ■-'•••-■ '''.., .. ' •. :.' The nine days' later ; Australian, news which comes by the Claud Hamilton is not of .Colonial consec[uence, but by way of Sydney there have been received details of affairs in Fiji which point to the prevalence of anarchy and the imminence of fighting between the white population and the Government. Arms have been taken up, but nothing serious has yet occurred. The'disturbance Jfc» arisen out of aa attempt by a Mr Heidman to take goods out of his bonded store in defiance of the prohibition of the Government. The presence in the harbor of H M.S. Blanche was useful, but the excitement was great. The residents at Marsden, Maori Creek, Rutherglen, Paroa, and surroundins localities have presented the Rev. Mr : M'lntosh, Presbyterian minister, with a handsome testimonial, in the shape of a purse containing L6l, in recognition of the indefatigable exertions he has made to conduct services during all weathers in the district., The ve>y . gentleman was specially iaviced ;to Marsdea on Wednesday last, when the presentation was made. Mr M'latosh returned thanks for the handsome gift, which he said he valued most on account of the kindly Reeling which it showed was entertained . towards him throughout the district. . In coming amongst them as a minister he had simply been doing his duty, and he would in future endeavor to be with them oftener chan he had been. After a friendly conversation the meeting dispersed. A meeting of the members of the Greymouth Licensed Victuallers' Association was held last evening at the Cosmopolitan Hotel, Mr. J. Midileton in the chair. It was decided to wind up the affairs of the Association on acount of the absence of assistance from the Government in carrying out the objects of the Association, and the consequent apathy whiuh had been- produced amongst the members. Tt was decided that the balance to the credit of the Association, LlO, less the cost of advertising the last meeting, should be equally divided and presented as a donation to the Grey District Hospital and the Greymouth Volunteer Fire Brigade The property of Peter Mulyey, who was recently convicted at Hokitika for attempted murder, Mas sold under a mortgage at Ahaura,' last week. Mr Reeves was the auctioneer, and the property, which consisted of leasehold land, farm produce, dairy , stock, horses, pigs, &c, realised, as far as sales were effected, a gross total of Ll2O. The road from Ahaura to the Amuri, especially that portion of , it in the neighborhood of Starvation Point, is described as bo-ing in a frightful condition. Constable Meredith had a bad time of it in that locality during the late stormy weather, while' in search of a man who was wanted on a charge of stealing a watch and chain at Ahaara. The officer was, during his journey, com- \ pelled to swim the Ahaura river at several places, at nearly flood level, and on one occasion he was brought to a standstill in consequence of the iroad being blocked with fallen timber. ' It being too late to return to the Haupuri, the constable was compelled to remain in the bush all night with his horse, both exposed to the full force of the storm, without shelter or fire. However the officer managed to secure his man, who was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, with : hard labor, on Wednesday. ;;.. ■ One of the most narrow escapes from drowning :that we have heard of lately happened, to ;Mr D, Carroll, publican, a'iew days ago, along with Mr Stephens, storekeeper. He was riding down the South Beach, close to low water-markj on Tuesday, when the surf was unusually high and breaking heavily upon the shore,, and whilst rounding a log, between the beach and the sea (although he had turned his horse's head seawards) he was caught by the breaker, and both horse and rider .were turned completely over, ; he, fortunately for himself, ■•■ falling under the horse. , ; : But for this, such was the tremendous force of the back current^ that he must have been swept away, :, as ; the ; violence with which . he had been thrown down had considerably weakened him and he could not have stemmed the reflux. It was eventually as much as horse and: rider could do to get back to the beach safely,, with no worse effects to the latter than a ; most complete ducking (having been for. several seconds jiinder water) and a slight .bruising of the. right leg and side.; „ . :■, ■. ■■■■..■: The new fireball for Hokitika, for which LSO has been subscribed; will probably be. the finest in the Colony. It will weigh 'thirteen cwt, and will be composed entirely of steel. •■■•;.•■■ : , Lunacy seems to be further on the increase in the gbld/fields districts. Three mote un- ■ fbrtunates were brought under the notice of the police up-country during . the week charged with this ''offence?" A man named Frank Perrari, an Italian, was placed in the custody of the police at Cobden as a lunatic some weeks ago, but as it was thought he was suffering from bodily rather than mental disease, he was sent to the Ureymouth Hospital for treatment. He escaped from, that institution and returned to Half-Ounce, where he has a wife and a large young family. It was found necessary to again place him under restraint, and he was forwarded; to Cobden in charge of Senior Constable Dorris on Tuesday. — On the same day, a respectable married woman, the wife of a miner at No Town, was brought down from that place in charge of Constable Clarke, for medical examination, the delusions she is I laboring under and her consequent actions rendering it unsafe to allow her to remain at large.— Un Wednesday, another woman residing near- Gough's punt, at Ahaura, was

Riven into the custody of the police for safe keeping. This poor creature ha 3 for years been subject to periodical and lengthened attacks of melancholia, but latterly the disease has assumed another phase, and appears ih'fifcs> of acute dementia, during which she is violent, with a destructive tendency. Our New York telegram received yesterday states that a balloon left that city on Tuesday last, on an aerial voyage to Europe. The Scientific American of July 26 gives; a description of Professor Wise's Great Graphic Balloon, in which it appears the professor has now ventured a perilous voyage across the Atlantic. The monster is 110 ft high, and the main portion is made of unbleached cotton, the exterior be*irig 'coated with a varnish made of linseed oil, beeswax and benzine. The gas capacity is 600,000 cubic feet, and when inflated the extreme height of the apparatus is 160 ft. Below the car a lifeboat is attached. ; This boat iis of the most approved construction, and fitted with watertight compartments, a sliding keel, and made so as to be self-righting. A complete outfit of oars and sails is provided, with instruments, guns, lines, &c , and provisions for 30 days all in watertight compartments. The car is also similarly provided. A number of carrier pigeons W6re to be taken along, and' despatched at intervals along the route with intelligence of the progress of the expedition. The total weight of the balloon and its contents is 7 jOOib, and 45001 bis allowed for passengers and ballast. , The, Hokitika papers report the occurrence of a fire at Fox's on Tuesday niiht. Tc appears that Mrs ,M.erritt, who , keeps an hotel at Fox's, went to bed at the usual hour with her two infant children. , ! Early on. Wednesday .morning a neighbor, perceiving smoke coming from the house, raised an alarm. The house was broken open, and the inmates, 'with some difficulty, rescued. The house, with all its contents, was soon burned. It will be remembered that upon the death of Mr Jimes Merritt, a subscription was raised for his family, which was invested in this property, and a few weeks only have sufficed for its destruction. The capabilities of the Port Chalmers Railway were put to the test on Saturday week. The ordinary traffic was supplemented by a special brain with the English mail, ex Albion, in the morning ; and during the day the Albion's ergo, amounting tc:3GO tons; as well as 100 tons of sugar, ,ex Margurita, were conveyed to town. To meet the demand, for conveyance, an exclusive goods train was for the fir's!; time required. Everything passed off satisfactorily, and every pound of the goods brought by the long and heavily freighted' trains was unloaded in Dunedin by ' six o'clock. The passenger traffic during the day was also unusually large.