THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1873.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1635, 31 October 1873, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. FRIDAY , OCTOBER 31 , 1873.

Bir a recent issue of the Akgus there was given a resume* of the Act by which the County of Westland is, at the will of the Governor, to be converted into a'Province, and allusion was made; therein to the conspicuous absence of the .clauses proposed by Mr Harrison, converting the Westland Coal Reserve to the pui"pose of securing the cost of the Greymbutn*. and Brunnerton Railway. Their abse>rice has been accounted for by the fact that the Legislative Council refused to adopt them as part of the Act creating a Province, but it appears that, although omitted in that Act, they were introduced in .another— an Act "providing for the construction of certain railways." Of that Act we have received a copy by a recent mail), and we quote therefrom, as follows",, tbe clauses in question :— .

" Whereas the lands described iia the fourth schedule hereto, known as the Grey Coal Reserves, are vested . in "the Grown, subject to be dealt with by the Governor in Council under 'The Westland Waste Lands Act, 1870 :'

"And whereas it is expedient that authority, should be given to the Governor in Council to "make the said reserve and the proceeds thereof a security to the Colony for a portion of the cost of the construction of such railway.;

'VBe it therefore enacted that the Governor in Council may declare the said lands and the proceeds thereof to be a security for such portion of the cost of the construction of the^ said railway and works connected therewith as he thinks equitable. ...-.<■; ; " The Governor -in -Council may lease sell of otherwise dispose of the said lands as he thinks fit, but the proceeds of all leases sales or other disposition of the said land heretofore effected or hereafter to be effected shall be paid into the public account."

By the same. Act; provision is made for the survey of. a line of railway between IPoxhill and Brunnerton; thus :-— .

"Whereas it is expedient that a line of railway from the termination at Foxhillj in the Province of Nelson, 'of the authorised line of railway, should be constructed to Brunner, in- the said; Province :

■ "Be it therefore enacted that such line of railway shall be .constructed by the Governor under, the said Act and' the Acts amending the same, out of such moneys as may from time to time be appropriated ! by the General Assembly foe the purpose. 'i^VThe Minister. for; Public Works is I hereby authorised to cause such inquiries reports andisuryeys to be made, and such acts and proceedings to be done and | taken, as he may think necessary for enabling him to recommend to the Governor, for submission to ; the , General Assembly during the' next session, plans for the construction of the said railway from Foxhill to Brunner ; and all necessary expenses in causing such, surveys / inquiries and reports to, be made .shall be defrayed out of any moneys for the time being standing to the credit of .the Public: Works account on account of railways, and the cost of such survey shall be

charged as part of the cost nf the construction of the line of railway which, shali be charged against the, Land Fund of the Province of Nelson."

And the, construction of a line of railway between the east and west coasts of the Middle Island is foreshadowed in the following phraseology : — : .

" Whereas it is expedient that a trunk line of railway through the Middle Island | should be completed, and it is necessary to that end that a line of railway connecting the authorised railways in the Province of Nelson with some principal town or authorised railway in Westland, and such town or railway in Westland with the lines of railway in Canterbury, with, if found practicable, a branch line of railway to Picton or Blenheim, in the Province of Marlborough, should be constructed :

"Be it enacted that such connecting lines shall be constructed by the Governor under 'The Immigration and Public Works Act, 1870,' and the Acts amending the same, out of such moneys as may from time to time be appropriated by tbe General Assembly for the purpose, and the cost of construction, shall, as between the Colony and the Province in which the work is constructed, be charged against the Land Fund thereof. The Minister of Public Works is hereby authorised to cause the necessary surveys to be made prelininary to the construction of such connecting lines ; and all necessary expenses in causing such survey to be made shall be defrayed out of any moneys for the time being standing to the credit of the Public Works Account on account of railways, and the cost thereof shall be charged as part of the cost of the construction of the rail way." '.-. }

The English and Australian mails which arrived by the Albion .were, not brought overland by the coach." For this the following reason is. given by the -"Westland Register" :— "The Ghristchurch coach, arrived last night, without' the Suez mails for Westland, although the Albion reached Lyttelton on Tuesday forenoon. It would not have been" asking too much had the postal authorities at Lyttelton detained the coach a few hours to enable the residents here to answer thJ&r home correspondents, and if the request had been preferred, Messrs Burton and Co. would, we are sure, have acceded to it. This is merely another iDstaiice of the disgraceful neglest of the postal requirements of Westland in the matter of the English mail service." Mr Warden Whitefoord, in answer to a request made to the Nelson Government that 1 a polling-booth should be proclaimed at Canoe Creek for the forthcoming election for the Superintendency, has received a reply to the effect that in consequence of the absence of the Governor from Wellington the necessary arrangements ' could not be made so that the proclamation could be made in the time prescribed by the Act. ; ; A cake of melted gold, weighing over 5030z, was brought to town by the Reef ton coach on Wednesday night, being the result of the last crushing of Anderson's Company. A public meeting is to be held at Middleton's Wharf Hotel to-night, for the purpose of electing a committee to 1 carry out the annual regatta. ■ The usual monthly meeting of the Building Society takes place at the Union Hotel this evening, antt tlie meeting of directors oa the following evening. . An acciaent of a serious nature happened to a young man named David Campbell, a nephew of Mr D. Donald's, Totara Flat, on Wednesday. He was chopping wood, and the- axtf slipped, striking his foot, cutting deeply into the instep, and nearly severing the little toe of his left foot. The sufferer is progressing favorably. An important and long-pending dispute regarding the value and ownership of a small strip of building land in the township of Ahaura is to come . before the Warden's Uourt at that place to-day (Friday). The litigants are Mj. J. D. Pinkerton and Messrs White and Garth, and the ground in dispute comprises about six feet of f rottage and running backwards between the premises of the parties, in Camp street. The suit is a one brdught for the, purpose of definitely fixing the title to the land. It is understood that the eleven of the Greymouth Cricket Club who are to play against! She Grey Val.ey Cricket Club, at Ahauraj on the ICth November next, will commence practising together at once, and a match will be played at the Camp Reserve on Saturday next by the eleven against sixteen members of the Club. The eleven will ne chosen from the following players, viz. :— Messrs ;F.W. Paul, Dan Twohill, A. R. Guinneps, Newton, A. Masters^ F, : Martin, Joe Heaphy, P. Twohill, Cresswell, Gleeson, Turner] Matthews, Strike, and Warner. The tairless horse is to be exhibited in the .large room of the Union Hotel this afternoon and evening. We understand that a memorial ia prepared, an^ ■' wiU De seu^ round to the Hokitika ratepayers * or signature without delay, praying the Bo?'O u g a . Council to give Ll5O toward a new fire el* I **" 16 ' : Mr J. B. Lewis, form^ty articled clerk in the office of Mr South, Ho3 fclka » has P aSßed with credit his examination pl nor fco adnussion to practice as a solicitor. A billiard match took place in DuneJ^ 11 on the 20th inst, between Mr G. Bromley a. n 4 a gentleman amateur— looo up, Mr Bromley ' giving his opponent 300 ■ points. The match ■ was for LlO a side. Each of the players ■ made a; mias to start .with. The following 1 were the principal breaks of the evening — ( Bromley: 42. 33, 28, 32, 27, 41, and 39.' , Gentleman amateur : 15, 19, 16, 15, 27, and 1 18. When the game was called, and Bromley 1 was 596, the amateur was 597. Up to this 1 time Bromley had been playing a magnificent 1 game, having made nearly 300 points more ] ttian his opponent. At this stage of the ; game, the odds were 20 to 1 on Bromley. ! But the luck here seemed to change, and • the amateur had it almost all bis own way, 1 scoring splendidly. When Bromley was ; 899, and the amateur 995, the former com- 1 inenced to nail up wonderfully, and by ex- < cellenfc playing succeeded in making 960 ; before the amateur got another chance of . scoring. Several misses were then made on !■ both sides ; and the amateur succeeded in ] winning by an excellent cannon, which made ' his total 1001 to Bromley's 960. Great in- \ teresb was manifested by the spectators < during . the progress of the game. We un- < derstand that another match will be arranged < beb ween these. play er3 at an early date. i The following accidents ate reported ia'tke i Canterbury papers :— " While Mr William < Lynskey was returning. to Kaiapoi in a buggy on 1 Sunday night, one of the shaft bolts broke", ' and the horse running into the side of the J road, capsized the vehicle. The occupants, 1 consisting of Mr Lynakej, two women and three children, were thrown out, and the ] wheel passed over one of the children. The a child had its arm injured, but che others f escaped with a severe' shaking. The buggy -1 was broken in. several places, but the horse c being quiet escaped uninjured. — A man t named : Thomas Dickson, who resides at 0 Leeaton, left Christcburch on last Saturday a afternoon, about three o'clock, with a load 0 of stone drawn by two horses, aud weighing i

nearly two tons. On? ;ettins; near the Hosaal the horses too, fright and bolted, i-ijsoo jumped off thi dray in the hope to stop them, but in ati jmpting to do so his foot taught in a rope stretched across the dray, \ibich threw hi >m right under the wheel, hit right knee b eing crushed to atoms. Some passers-by carri fed him into the Hospital. The case necesr litating immediate amputation, a consultati on was shortly held, and the leg was am] jutsted at the thigh, & most successful oper? rtion being performed. The unfortunate mai i had received several bruises about the he iad and face, aad bore . the appearance .of b aving been dragged on the road for some litt le distance." r Public works in N apier have been stopped for a couple of mont hs, owing to there being no labor available in the Province. A shipment of 280 Scandinavians is expected, but the "Herald" dec] ares that the supply of labor that may. be c xpected will not be anything like sufficient to meet the demand that is known to exist. tt is stated, says the " Daily News," that the experiment of 1 ight cables to the United States will shortl; j be practically tested, arrangements to c .nable Mr H. Highton to lay a cable across t Jie Atlantic being in active progress. Mr Big ,'hton's new caWe is not to cost above LIOO.OI JO, and if it be successfully laid, telegrams be* tween Europe and America may in future cos! ; less in pence thau they do now in shillings. With regard to the removal of Mr O'Rorke from the office of Immigration Minister, the Canterbury "Pi .-ess" makes the following remarks :— " As . Immigration Minister Mr O'Rorke was a ijdisastrous failure; He was fit for nothing a' % all. He could not superintend the routii te duties of his office. H«j could not cont rol the A.gent-General. He ■ could not. write I ais own despatches. He could not introduce a Bill, scarcely even, answer a question on ma tters belonging to, his department. The Premier himself had to' carry the Immigrants. Land Bill through the Bouse, and to defend .the. department against its. numerous ass: rilants. He may naturally think, therefore, that, as 1 he had to do the work, he ma;; as well take the place outright, and reJlegate Mr O'Rorke to the congenial repose. ( >f the Postmastership. That is a place whicl l will just suit him. He will there as in a \ mrpetual lotus land. The permanent staff will take all trouble off his hands. No official care will rob his face of j its smile, or : jpoil the flavor of his cigar. He i will pass his days in that tranquil enjoyment for which (according to village legend) a worthy farm er used to bless the happy halfhour of serrmou time, when, as he was accustomed to suy, '' all I has to do is to put up my legs amd to, fold my ar*m3, and to sit thinking of nothing." The "Fijian Government have, says a cortemporary, played a bold game, and been "successful. The old constitution, with' its Lower House of white men, and Upper House of native chiefs, is to be abolished by the authority of the king alone, and a new one substituted for it. Under the nevs^ order of tilings t he Ministry will be nominated, not only in theory but in fact, by one king, and responsible Government be heard of no more. The Legislature will consist of twelve great chiefs, who are now the governors of districts, and of certain other chiefs and white men nominated by the king. To them will be added eight elected white representatives, to give the settlers a voice In the matter. When the Lords were the Education Bill, Captain Eraser denounced religious instruction being given in schools. Such instruction he said should only be given at the " mother's knee." One member who is aJ .ways wanting to know and for ever making inquisition upon aft matters, irrespective of his knowledge of ' them, wished ' the Hon. Mr Frasar to inform him whether if a boy had no mother— how: then? To which the ready reply was that "A deceased wife's sisber can supply her place." The question of the deceased wife's sister had just' prsviously been before the House, and it was this that made the repartee so telling. Immigrants arriving at Napier appear to bo well cared for. The transhipment from the Douglas found suitable engagements within a couple of hours of landing. The barracis in the town are described to be very comnwdious and well fitted up. The lot that came f t6m Wellington in the Luna in the evening,: on landing, were marched straight to ths barracks, where "they found the kettl© on the fire and everything in readiness for sitting down to tea." Ths following is from a new York paper : — " Despatches from Melbourne report that a paiic prevails in New Zealand over the freqient and terrible assassinations by the mouitaineers. The settlers are organising for defence, and another Maori war is probabb." Doubtless, with its own little native warinthe shape of the Modoc difficulty, and ocoEßJonal Indian forays oa far frontiers before it, the New York paper reads of a soliiary .' outrage in New Zealand in the lisfc of one accustomed to tales of tomahawks and scalping knives. Ike '! Ross Guardian" learns from an old exjerienced miner, who lately returned fran the Haast, that he would not be at all surprised at a good diggings being found in tint neighborhood. He says that in every little gully small nuggets are found about tie roots of the grass ; aud instances that the ;T>tara, Donnelly's Creek, and Donoghue's were being worked long before Jones's Flat was thought of. Had he nob had a share in a payable claim to come back to, he declares ha would not have returned. As there are about sixty miners prospecting at the Haasb at present, the auriferous resources of the country should be well tested. In the course of a speech recently delivered at Heathcote by Sir Cracroft Wilson < the following remarks were made regarding the' Gold-fields members, and their tendency to talk ••—I tt the past session of the Assembly, . there was m doubt that a very great amount of time had Vlßen " wasted > and through no other reason than that there were men in . the Assembly who ougiT' mver J^ nave been ■ sent, there by the electors,- They were in i that House men who were not £?ted by edu- ] cation or any other qualification to be mem* . bers of the Parliament of New Zealand— ; men who got up to talk on all conceivable . subjects, without really knowing what they . were talking about, and conspicuous amongst j these were the gold-fields members, who had • a habit of speaking to their constituents through '?. Hansard." 'In fchis way a great ! deal of time had been wasted to no purpose. 1 He .would mention a notable instance of this. * He would make no secret of the matter, but 1 would mention the name of the hon. member c he referred to. The hon. member for Mount Dunstan on one occasion had a set speech to f make, which he desired to have reported and r circulated amongst his constituents. In the course of discussion, however, the attention B of the Speaker was drawn to ; the fact that there wece strangers in the gallery. The j galleries Trereimxnediately^cleared, but when a the hon. member observed tibab the reporters 3 w,ere not in their places, and that his speech would, therefore, not be reported in l? Han- a sard," he very quickly sat down, and his aim , ( in preparing a set speech was defeated. A Canterbury Provincial " Gazette, " dated a ISfch October, contains a statement of receipts ( and expenditure by the Provincial Treasurer for the quarter ending 30th September, ii There is a a peculiarity in this statement, as , compared with its predecessors — no general | a balance-sheet showing at a glance the state (4 of s the whole account is expended. ■ Under •/, schedule Aof the Appropriation Ordinance — a sraiharyaccouut — the receipts for the quarter, b including a balance of 136,019 19s 2d trow Q

the preceding quarter, were L 64.161 Us 3d. The expenditure was L 37.435 7s sd, leaving a balance on 30th September, of L 26,726 3s lOd. The receipts under schedule B of the Appropriation Ordinance — land and works account, including a balance of L 332.878 19s Id from the preceding quarter, were L 460,068 lls 4d. The expenditure under this head was L 84,779 5s lOd, leaving a balance of L 375,289 5s 6d. Apparently, therefore, the Province had a credit balance of L 402,015 9s 4d on 30th September.