THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13,1873.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1646, 13 November 1873, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13,1873.

The end of this month will see the end of the County system in New Zealand, as represented in the County of Westlarid. On the following day, December Ist, Westland will rank in title, if not in territory, with, the other politicalsubdivisions of the Colony as a Province. According to the Province of Westland Act, it was. to come into operation at whatever time His Excellency the Governor should proclaim, and his Excellency the Governor has proclaimed that it shall come into/operation on the first day of the month' of December one thousand eight hundred and seventy-three. It is well to know that, according to the seventh clause "The Governor shall cause the first wri is for the election of Superintendent and members of the Provincial Council to be issued at some time not later than thirty days after the coming into operation of the Act," or, in other words, before the Ist of January, lß74.

" Hard hitting on both sides " was the brief description which our Nelson correspondent gave of the characteristics of the proceedings at the nomination of Superintendent on Saturday. It was added by another correspondent that the speech of the West Coast candidate was generally violent, and no great stretching of the imagination is requisite to ,enable anyone to conceive that much. More specific mention than that contained in the 'first line was not made regarding the peculiarities of Mr Curtis's address, but, judging by the one report of it which we have seen published, he certainly adapted himself to the circumstances, and, at the cost of saying some things which might be considered infra dig., he went freely in for a "dig" at his opponent whenever opportunity offered. Excuse for this indulgence in hustings "pleasantries" may be found in the fact that matters of more serious moment had been dealt within former and more formal addresses to the electors, and in the fact that much temp- , tation had been given by Mr O'Conor in the course of his candidature and oratorical utterances. Leaving matters of the more serious sort to be referred to on some other occasion, we cull from Mr Curtis's speech some of the smaller items to which he apologetically alluded. The following is, perhaps, the most personal allusion of the lot,:— "He thought, judging from the reports he had seen in the papers of Mr O'Conor's meetings, that his pretensions to the Superintendency were rather weak, though in a letter written to one of the West Coast papers he did see something urged in support of his claim, which was that Mr O'Conor came of regal descent. And this reminded him of the concluding paragraph of Mr O'Conor's speech on Thursday evening. He spoke in terms as fbllows :— 'It had been stated by some that there was a ring, a combination of families, who thought they alone had a right, to rule Nelson, and that this ring ■ could not, of course, support him because he was not an aristocrat; but he might come front »as good a stock as they did, though he did not flaunt his pedigree like that of a stud horse." That paragraph had amused him very much, for it. had ( recalled' to his mind a standing joke in Wellington, .during . j the Parliamentary session, Mr O'Couor's aristocratic connections; had ;beeh flashed in ;e very body's face, an6V,oneday,-when Mr .O/Conor was sitting at 'tabib with the Governor; whose hospitality frequently invited to his table members of the House, his Excellency— ■n:,i',i ;;r:i!:.v.t. '■

having been put up to this weakness in that gentleman — took occasion to ask across the table as to the health of Mr O'Conor's . aristocratic (connections. (Laughter). One of these aristocratic connections had also appeared in Wellington duricg the session, when Mr O'Conor had bullied the General Government to find him a billet ; and as he now proposed, if elected, to make a clean sweep of the Provincial officials, without regard to ability or experience, possibly in that case Nekon might have the benefit of some of the members of this aristocratic connection."

Defending himself against the charge of paying his periodical visits to the Coast in pompous fashion, Mr Curtis made some rather happy comparisons, and described the personal characteristics of his opponent in words which, if they were few, were telling and true to nature. Thus : —

" As to Mr O'Conor's assertion that he had travelled in a semi-regal style, he (Mr Curtis) had before no idea that a farmer, when he brought his wife and family to a church on a Sunday, travelled in a semi-regal state ; or that when butchers and traders carried round their wares in spring carts, they too travelled in a semiregal state. When Mr O'Oonor t made thiß charge, because he had availed himself of a ride in a spring cart, he certainly must have been at his wit's end for something to say. Mr O'Conor had also "commented upon the rate at which he had travelled. He (Mr Curtis) had walked from the Lyell to Nelson in five days, and though he did not profess to be a great pedestrian, still he considered that to be fair walking. Besides, his object was to see the country, and not to run a race and see how fast he could get over the ground. Then, again, Mr O'Conor had contrasted his inertness and laziness with his own activity. Now, Mr O'Oonor appeared to htm to be a man who was always in a bustle — always rushing about and making a great stir, as if he was full of business, while really it took him one half of the week to undo that which he had hastily and imperfectly done in the previous half."

The opportunity of making allusions to a matter of Provincial history was not neglected, and for the first time Mr Curtis publicly avowed his belief in the correctness of the action of the Council, two years ago, in connection with the subject of certain sections at Westport.

" Referring to Mr O'Conor's action in the Provincial Council in 1872 with respect to the "Westport sections, he at that time thought the Council had perhaps taken, up. the matter rather hastily. He himself had come to the conclusion that Mr O'Conor's conduct on that occasion was highly improper, and could in no respect be justified, but the Council had passed a resolution in very much stronger terms. Mr O'Conor afterwards brought this matter before the Assembly, and a committee was appointed to report thereon. This committee, after hearing the evidence, decided that as Mr O'Conor had declared that when sitting in the Council committee-room he had been reading a newspaper, and had not heard what was going on there, they were bound to believe him. He was not surprised at this decision, for at that time votes were remarkably scarce in the House ; the two bodies were evenly divided, and as it was uncertain which side Mr O'Conor would support, either party was anxious to assist in his exculpation. This was shown in a remarkable manner, when the report was read in the House, by the struggle between Mr Fox and Mr Stafford, the leaders of the respective parties, as to who should be the firat to congratulate Mr O'Conor on the result. Mr Stafford being the nimblest, managed to rise first to congratulate him, when Mr Fox immediately followed, and seconded Mr Stafford's remarks. He would not press the matter too hardly upon Mr O'Conor, but such a resolution as that he had just read was recorded in the , Blue Book of the Province, and he thought he had a right to call the electors' attention thereto in order that they might weigh well its effect before they recorded their votes." j

Mr O'Conor, continued Mr Curtis, had recently made two charges, one of which was of so dark a character that," if true'j he (the latter) would not be justified ii? asking the electors to return him, but should be ashamed to appear before them I i This, he said, was a charge of corrupt I administration on the part of the Waste Lauds Board — a charge which amounted to nearly that of forgery. -Mr O'Conor 1 had made a similar charge in the Assembly against the Waste Lands Board, asserting that the Board bad granted a lease for a coal-field under suspicious circumstances, and had entered false records in their books ; and Mr Curtis proceeded at some length to give what he called the straightforward history of the matter — the grant-; ing of a lease to Mr Albert Walker— and concluded by asserting that he had refuted the charge out of Mr O'Conor's own lips. He added one other circumstance to which passing reference had previously been made, and which is highly suggestive of how men may mix Provincial Council duties and private interests,, or, it might be, the same interests with the duties of Superintendent. He had, he said, mentioned, that a proposal previously made by Mr O'Conor had not been favorably entertained by the Waste Lands Board ; and Mr O'Conor had replied that no such application had been made to the Board. Now, the Act provided that the Superintendent shall receive applications for coal leases, but only entertain them on the advice of the Board. This application of Mr O'Conor's had been addressed to him, and though it had not been brought before the Board in a formal manner, still he had mentioned it to the Board, and they had expressed a very strong opinion against entertaining it ; and of their views he had informed Mr O'Conor at the time. The application was, in effect, that Messrs Spence Brothers and Messrs E. J. O'Conor and Company should construct the railway from Ngakawhau to Westport, and receive therefor a bonus of 20,000 acres of land, and to have, the right of selecting in any five different places on Mount Rochfort they might choose ; besides having the whole block of 114,000 acres retained in their hands for two years, to the exclusion of everybody else.

The last printed report of the 'committee of management of the local hospital is now before us, It relates to the year ending the 30th of June last, during which period, it is stated, the arrangements of the hospital had been satisfactory, and its advantages experienced b

22 more patients than during the previous year. The total number of patients treated had been as many as 764, including 252 indoor patients and 512 outdoor patients, and among the former were several female patients, for whose accommodation a commodious ward is now available— the use of that ward being only available under certain restrictions the propriety of which is unquestionable. To the sub-committees in the outlying districts acknowledgment is made of their indefatigable exertions in procuring subscriptions ; still the financial position of the institution was not so satisfactory as it had been in the previous year. In the management of the institution economy had been exercised, the daily average cost of eachpatienthavingbeen4s B|d as against 4s lOfd in the yearprevious; thisampunf being calculated from the total expenditure, leis the sum of '£3oo, which was the cost of erecting the female ward. One justifiable item of cost was the insurance of the buildings and other property for the amount of £1500. The tenure under which the committee held the hospital grounds, it is stated, is simply a permission from the Commissioner of Native Reserves, but in May last a promise of a lease on certain conditions was obtained, and the report urges upon the new committee the propriety of concluding arrangements, and placing the matter on a more satisfactory footing. The recommendation might, indeed, have gone further, and included a proposal the propriety of which is becoming daily more palpable as the township develops and population accumulates in the vicinity of the institution — namely, the procuring of another and more, suitable site, and the conversion of the present into a site for the construction of those Government buildings which are now scattered in all parts of the town, to the considerable inconvenince of the public.

From the statistics furnished by the Surgeon-Superintendent, Dr Morice, we learn that in February the hospital was most full of patients, their numbers being 32, while in the January the numbers were at the minimum of 24. Of the total of 252 admitted during the year 132 were from Westland, and 120 from Nelson. • In nationality, the patients represented almost every country in Europe or the British Colonies, but the bulk of them consisted of — English 90, Ireland 68, Scotland 38, America 9, Sweden 7. The occupations included as many as 167 miners, and 20 sailors, while the majority were in the prime of life — 100 from 25 to 35 years of age, and 95 from 35 to 45 years. Their religious connection is thus given — Church of England 97, Roman Catholic 79, Lutheran 18.. Presbyterian 47, Wesleyan 6, Baptist 4, and one solitary representative of what is called the Big Church, whatever that may be. . As many as 52 cases were those of persons suffering from accidents, and 17 cases of various descriptions of disease were fatal, six being admitted in a dying state,*and four only surviving their admission for a few hours. To the officers of the institute, aDd to the honorary promoters of its efficiency, the report conveys expressions of thanks for their attention — expressions which the circumstances fully justify.

The election of a member for the Cobden district in the Nelson Provincial Council takes place to-day. There are two candidates in the field, Messrs Boase and Fowler. Last niaht Mr Boase addressed the electors at the school-house, Cobden ; the building was crowded. Mr Hornby occupied the chair. We reported Mr Boase's speech on the occasion of the nomination, and last night's was simply a repetition of it. In answer to a question from Mr Wallace, Mr Boase said he never did or would support Mr Curtis, because he considered him nothing less than a vampire— a manufacturer of phrases framed to deceive the people, so that he could slip out of the position he had pretended to assume whenever he thought necessary. The speech generally was received with much applause, and, at its conclusion, a vote of confidence in Mr Boase as the representative of the district was moved by Mr Thomson, seconded by Mr Stone, which was carried by 30 to 4. Mr Boase thanked the electors for the vote, and the meeting adjourned. — Mir Boase addressed a meeting of the electors of ±srunnerton on Tuesday, and received a unanimous vote of confidence.

• The regular meeting of the committee of management of the Grey River Hospital took place on Wednesday evening at Gilmer's Hotel, Mr E. Masters in the chair. The minutes of the previous meeting having been read and confirmed, and the surgeon's report for the month received, the hon. secretary reported that he had forwarded to the several local committees copies of the annual report and by-laws, also circulars requesting them to convene public meetings for the purpose of electing new committees for the year, ending June, 1874. The accounts for the month, amounting to LIBB 2s 2d, were laid on the table and passed for payment. The hon. treasurer reported that he had received since last meeting L 4 ]3s 3d from the Greymouth Licensed Victuallers, and the Nelson subsidy for September, L 94 2s lOd ; and that the General Government declined to pass the drugs and. spirits of wine required for the hospital duty free. The number of patients in the hospital on the Ist November was 32; admitted during the month, 19; discharged, 12. It was resolved to call for tenders for painting and whitewashing the hospital buildings, outhouses, and fence ; tenders to be opened at the next meeting. The visiting committee appointed for the month are Messrs Kilgour, Kenrick, and Maclean.

Subscriptions are being made at Ahaura for prizes for athletic sports to be held on Boxing Day.

j The Ahaura election takes place on Monday. At several of the centres of population, addresses have been delivered by the different candidates, and it will probably prove to be a close contest. ,

The Ahaura "Road Board, or four of its members, met on Tuesday, but the meeting was formally postponed until the 17th. :

Gold has. been struck at Stribling's Creek, in the Kanieri district, with every prospect of affording good returns to those setting in. Three parties, we are; informed, have already obtained payable prospects at this place.

It is gazetted that letters of naturalisation have been issued in favor of Mr H. J. H. \7olters, Greymouth, and Mr Edward Hobs/ Hokitika.

Applications for the renewal of licenses expiring on or before the 31st of April next, within the town of Greymouth, must be made to-day (Thursday) at the Resident Magistrate's Court.

The Primate of New Zealand was understood to be a passenger to Hokitika yesterday by the steamer Kennedy. He is to visit Ross during the ensuing week.

A man named James Baner met with an accident at the Arahura on Tuesday, whilst wrestling, he being thrown and having his leg broken, He has since been conveyed to the Hokitika Hospital.

Mr Cooper, Hon. Secretary for the' Art Union,, London, has received prints from the plate prepared for the subscribers for this year. It; is a beautiful engraving in pure line by A. Willmore, from the original picture ef E. W. Cooke, R.A., named "Dutch Trawlers Landing Pish at Egmont."

At the Resident Magistrate's Court, yesterday, Alfred 'Bisch -was charged, on the information, of Mr Lundon, Collector of Customs, with a breach of the Customs Act, by being concerned in importing one clock, four watches, one box of old gold, &c, whereby he had forfeited the sum of LIOO, or treble the value of the articles. The charge was admitted, snd as the Collector elected to sue for treble the value of the goods, defendant was fined L2l and costs. — Evan Evans, for being drunk and disorderly, was fined 20s or 25 hours imprisonment — (rfiorge Cooper was charged with a breach of the Vagrant Act by allowing prostitutes to assemble in his licensed premises, the Tivnli Hotel. Evidence was given that the individuals objected to were on the premises at a ball held on Monday night, but it was contended that the defendant did not knowingly allow them to be there. The Magistrate dismissed the case, on the ground that it had nob been shown that defendant was aware of the character of the females mentioned, neither that he had knowingly admitted them, yet ,he took occasion to comment strongly on the practice of ball applicants, in the manner mentioned, enticing and attracting persons of ill-fame to their licensed houses for mere gain, which was a practice too common on the Coast.— The following debt cases were heard:— District Board, and Ratepayers of the Paroa Road District v. P. Dinnin— Judgment for LI 10s and costs.-- Judgment; for plaintiffs were given in the following cases:— W. Woolfe v. H.Wick, L 8 17s lOd and costs ; W. Woolfe v. — Gaul (Christohurch), L 3 3s 6d and costs; Woolfe and Killeen y. H. Wick, L 4 Ss lid and costs ; H. Burgefcfc v, — Taggarb, L 8 16s 6d, amount payable ab LI per week, or 14 days' imprisonment ; R. C. Reid v. T. Keenan, L 2 10s and costs ; P. Hanney v. M. Shannahan, a claitrff or L 7 9s; judgment was given for plaintiff, L 5 2s 6d, and costs. — Julia East v. Dennis Buggy, claim of L 2 10s. Plaintiff was nonsuited with costs.— E. Brown v. J. M'Naniara, claim of L 9 6s Id. Plaintiff nonsuited with costs. — Kennelly and Brassel v. John Ryan, a claim of Ll3 0s 6d. The defendant pleaded bankruptcy, and he had received his final order of discharge. The plaintiffs were nonsuited. — E. Coutanche v. J. Bulstrode, a claim of L 2; judgment for plaintiff with costs.— T; Joyce v. W. Riley, Hokitika ; judgment by default for L 4 7s 7d and costs.

A private telegram from Westport states that there was " much fun'^ on Tuesday evening at Mr O'Conor's meeting, at which Mr Curtis was present. The same correspondent says that Nelson is greatly excited on the subject of the Superintendent's election. To-day, Mr O'Conor revisits Cobden, and is to address another meeting there tonight. The gold from the Just-in-Time claim reached Reef ton on Monday afternoon, and weighed in the cakes 17600z. It was, says the " Herald," in three lots, and from the excellent manner in which the cakes turned out, reflects credit on the amalgamator, Mr J. Greenwood. In the evening the gold was exhibited in the Oddfellow's Hall for the benefit of the" Hospital, resulting in L 6 3s being added to the fnnds of that institution. It has been suggested that on its arrival in Greymoubh the gold might be similarly exhibited for the benefit of the Greymouth Hospital, or jointly for the Hospitals there and at Reefton. It was decided by the directors to divide the gold, selling two cakes to the National Bank and one cake to the Bank of New Zealand. Magnificent stone is being raised in the Fiery Cross from the north end of the tunnel. It is said to be equal in quality to any yet obtained in that locality. A numerously attended meeting was held at the Oddfellows Hall, Reefton, on Saturday evening last, for the purpose of presenting Mr Alexander Kerr, as the representative of the National Bank, with |a requisition urging that a branch of the Bank should be established at Reefton. Mr Ivess waa in the chair, and Mr W. M'Lean, as secretary of a committee, described the purpose of the requisition, and stated that it had attached to it upwards of 400 names. Mr Kerr having at some length addressed the meeting, a resolution thanking the Bank, through their representative, for their promptitude in acceding to the wishes of the memorialists, was unanimosly passed.

A special meeting of the Hokitika Borough Council was held on Tuesday afternoon, when his Worship the Maj-or, on behalf of the Council, presented Mr Lazar with an address, and a testimonial in a more substantial form, upon the occasion of his retiring from the duties of Town Clerk. In the remarks of the Mayor when making the presentation, he alluded at some length to the services which had been rendered to the Corporation by'Mr Lazar, and to the good feeling which had always existed between that gentleman and the Council. The address, which was beautifully engrossed, together with a cheque for LSO, was then handed to Mr Lazar, who replied in suitable terms.

Mr P. L. Clarke, Hokitika, announces that he is now prepared to sell coal for 25s per ton for cash. At a meeting of -the Central Board of Education, held at Nelson, last week, a letter was read from the Cobden Committee, requesting the Board to take some action, apparently by way of concurrence in the expulsion of Mr Dinan's children from the school at Cobden, and further asking the Board to authorise the Committee to refund to Mr Ray the amount of the fine together with Court expenses, amounting to L 6. It was resolved on the motion of Mr Fell, • That the Secretary be instructed to refer the Cobden Committee to section 36 of the Education Act, and to express the Board's regret that Mr Ray should have thought it necessary, under any circumstances, to inflict corporal punishment on a girl." It was also resolved, " That the fine and costs be not refunded."

The Provincial Hall, says the Nelson "Examiner," was by no means crowded when Mr O'Conor addressed ths electors and nonelec'ors. There were present from 350 to 400 electors and non ; electors. The ladies' gallery was filled, and the other gallery was fully occupied. The speech of the candidate was listened to with some curiosity, though from first to last it was evident that the whole affair was regarded more as a farce than anything else, and the cheers which he occasionally received were decidedly ironical. One growler was ejected, the chairman having previously intimated that if the candidate were again interrupted-^noises on the part of the audience having repeatedly broken the thread of his argument— he would call upon the police to interfere. The Wellington "Independent," in an article on the Nelson Superintendent's election, while blaming Mr Curtis, says : — •'But we do not think it would be a good thing for , the Province of Nelson, with: its large and extended interests, to be placed under Mr O'Conor's administration. There ate qualities needed for the office of Superintendent which it is no reproach to Mr O'Conor to say he does not possess, but which Mr Curtis does. It appears to us, and we speak from, some knowledge of the affairs of Nelson, that the best course for the electors to adopt is to reflect Mr Curtis, but with' the clear understanding that he < must dismiss his Executive.

Mr Robert Mafekayi iof Wangamon,, besides subscribing to the^Nei'soti. Exhibition fund, sends in a sample of'lyaluable flagging stone lately found in his^ffislirict;, and procurable in large quantities. Already four or five cases of exhibits from the West Coast have arrived, and Mr Charles Broad, R.M. at Reefton, has advised the forwarding of another box of specimens. An offer having been made to exhibit in working otder a new machine (worked without any water) for saving gold from auriferous sand or washdirt, it was resolved to ask Dr Giles to send up, if possible, a bag or two of stuff to be tested by the new process.

Mr Tribe, M.H.R., has got the," Wanganui Chronicle" iD his own hands, and, according to the description of a Wellington correspondent, is going in strong for l?rovincialism, as represented here at present by Fitzherbert, Bunny, arid Co. ; and no doubt, whatever may be said against Provincialism in the abstract, he has a strong case here as compared with all the other Provinces of the North Island, as it is impossible to, shut one's eyes to the wonderful progress that the Province has made since the above firm came into office, having vivified what was then regarded as a corpse, beyond all hope of redemption.

At the nomination of Superintendent of Nelson, Mr Cooky went on to the platform, and remarked that before he proceeded further, he would ask Mr Pitt whether, if he were nominated, he wouldrunfor the Superintendency? Mr Pitt stated that if hehad been asked a month previously it was probable he might have consented, but that as it had been supposed there would be only two candidates in the field, and as no doubt many of the electors had pledged themselves, to support one or other, he thought it would be unfair to the electors that he should enter the field at the eleventh hour. He therefore declined the honor proposed to him. .