THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 1874.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1770, 8 April 1874, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDA Y, APRIL 8, 1874.

The question of whether the town of Greymouth is worth saving at all w one that must now force itself in a very unmistakeable manner upon the attention of its residents, for certain it is that if the town is to be saved from titter destruc- I tion, and the port to be kept open to j shipping, some very prompt measures will have to be adopted— unless, indeed, the Government would prefer to see all the expenditure already incurred in protective works utterly thrown away, and the railway rendered useless. We have little doubt that had the recent flood continued another day, or even twelve hours longer, the river would have made a clean breach across the flat at the foot of Gresson street into the lagoon, and probably forced open a new channel to sea. As it was, a very large slice of ground was swallowed up that might have been saved had the stone embankment been carried further down. The consequence of any such diversion of the river, as is undoubtedly threatened now, would be something disastrous. Not onlywould the safety of the town be endangered, but the chances are that the Grey would become no more of a port than the Teremakau is. And with a closed port what becomes of the place and the property in it, the railway «~orks, the coal-mines, and everything else ? The strongest possible representations should be made to the General Government, urging the continuance of the rough stone embankment so far at any rate as to prevent any further encroachments at the lower end of the town. As a chain is no stronger than its weakest link, the protective works now completed are practically of little value if the river is to be allowed to get behind the town. We would urge upon the Borough Council the desirability of representing to the Government the critical position of the river, and endeavoring to induce it to continue the protective works at once. Backed by other pressure we think it probable that the Government would take action in the matter. But that the wries were down yesterday, the Government would have been communicated with by the district member of the Assembly. No time ought to be lost, and we hope the Borough Council will take up the subject vigorously and immediately.

Tha result of the month's crushing of the Ajax Company, Inangnbua, is 5700z melted gold. A branch establishment of the Melbourne Chinese firm of Ah Foo and Co. is to be opened in Hokitika shortly. We are requested to correct a statement which appeared in our columns a few d iys ajro, copied from a Hokitika paper, to the P*roa Road fioam had been allowed. The fac ; is that the application being informal, leave was granted to amend, and the appeal will be tried at the next sitting of the Supremj Court. The boiler of the Kohinoor claim at Kosp, was sent to Hokitika on Friday last, being borne on a waggon drawn by nine horses. Jfc will be forwarded to the Grey Mouth Coal Compauy when the present floods subside. Some specimens of asbestos have been brought to Hokitika by M r Saunders, from his trip down south, one being a very excellent one. This mineral is incombustible, aud is of much value. The locality of the disovery is Big Bay. Mr Saunders has also brought specimens of gold-bearing quartz, copper ore, pure native copper, and other minerals. We draw attention to the sale of Crown Lands which takes place to-morrow at the Court House. There are fourteen lots of suburban sections of ten acres each, situated iv Block 07, which will be put up at the upset pi ice of L 2 per acre. The Hon. E. W. Stafford is a candidate for ' a seat in the Canterbury Provincial Council for the Heathcote district. A number of merchants in Dunedin having omitted to apply for wholesale spirit licenses in accordance with the Licensing Act, will be unable to deal in wines or spirits for a year, unless the Act is amended or repealed next session. The census just taken (according to the local paper) shows the population of Oaraaru town proper to be 2829, It may be interesting to add that the proportion of the sexes was as follows : — Males, 1555 ; females, 1274. :•■ An inquest was beld at Napier recently on the body of Daniel German, who iwas drowned in tlie harbor whilst swimming for a wager. It- appears from the evidence taken that the deceased had made a bet of LI with a man named Hunt Connor, formerly of i the Thames (both being under the influence of liquor) that he would remain longer in: tb<j water than Connor. They went on board the Manawatu, and jumping off tha- vessel swam together for some distance. The deceased, it seems, bad gone out too far into the breakers, although Conno had repeatedly called out to him to keep closer in, and he was not able to swim against them. Connor, unable to render any assistance, then hailed the pilot boat, which at once put out to the assistance of the unfortunate man, but no traces of him could be discovered. The .Nelson Colonist Bays: — "We have conversed with a gentleman who has just returned from a visit to Anatori, and his account of the district leads us to believe that it v.ill rival, if not excel, any in the Colony. The atone in the prospeccors' claim is exceediuply rich, and while the gentleman we speak of was present on the ground, the reef was struck in No. 1 North, on the Morning Star claim. A piece of the stone obtained from the reef was brought borne by him, and this, when broken up showed sp' cks of gold in every particle. 'I he reef in the prospectors' claim is 4ft thick, and the leader that was struck iv the Morning Star he measured from a few inches in thickness to 2ft, by three leaders running into one. The reefs, unlike many on the West Coast, are easily got at, and at no distant day a large population will bo drawn to the district. The land belongs to the natives, and the Government would do well to endeavor to purchase it." On the 9th March, Mr Morgan brought an action against the Nelson Waste Lands Board to recover the Bum of L 64, deposited by him in 1808, od applying for a lease of the Brun* ncr coal-mine. On the 2 ?rd, the Kesident Magistrate gave judgment upon the case, the (principal question being whether the plaintiff having failed to. take up the lease, had tor* feited the sum deposited. Judgment was given for the defendants, and notice of appeal was given.

The nomination of two candidates for the No Town Sub District Road Board, in tba room of Messrs P. Gillen aiiJ-W* S; Campbell, who retired by lot, took place on Monday, at the Court House. Notwithstanding the state of the creeks and gullies caused by tbe greatest flood known in the No Town district, some forty persons attended. The Chairman (Mr G. Galbraith), after reading tbe authority vested in him by the Board, called on the meeting to elect two members : John Corbett, M.P.C., proposed, antf Mr Livingston seconded— John Dalling Robb, M.D. ; MrM'Beath, proprosed, and Mr John Clifford seconded, Fredk Stanhope, after which Messrs M'Beath, Clifford, Scoglund, M'Carthy, and Sullivan were severally proposed and seconded, but declined to stand. The Chairman , then declared John Dalling Jt;obb, M.D., and Frederick Stanhope duly elected members of the Board. F. Stanhope in the absence of Dr Robb, in thanking the electors, said the revenues of the district having commenced to decrease, it would be the duty of himself, and he could answer for his colleague, to' see that .all moneys received within tbe sub-d'strict (les3 expenses) be spent within its boundaries ; that while they were doing their duty to their constituents at the Board, he (the speaker) trusted that in another place their M.P.C.'s would look after separation. With a vote of thanks to the chairman and the retiring candidates, the meeting terminated. There is a member of the Legislative Assembly in Sydney who seems destined to eclipse some of the proudest efforts of either General Choke or Mr Lafayette Kettle in "high falutin" talk. The nascent Demosthenes of New South Wales told "a listening senate" that he had entered into the stormy arenn. of politics " because he saw the wings of the demon of discord overshadowing the | land ; because he longed to wage war with them, to cry ' rescue !' to the ' Helots' of their savage bigotry ! and because he saw the fingers of the fiend defacing his native land !" Be r e is a "derangement of epitaphs" of which even Mrs Malaprop neeii not have bren ashamed, and a confusion of metaphor not unworthy of Lord Castlereagh himself. We are informed that the population of the Brunnerton district, comprising the whole of the Arnold and right branch of the New River districts, and fr-nn theuce taking in the northern side of the Maori Creek township and Marsden, and the northe stern side of the Marsden road is 1022, of whom 700 are Europeans, and 322 Chinese. The Thames Advertiser gives the following acennnt of mining affairs at the Thames : — " Mining affairs throughout the field during the last month have exhibited a very encouraging aspect, and although there has not been any very marked fluctuation d feeling in regard to stocks, there is an evident improvement in tone, which is justified by the steadily advancing improvement in many of the mines. From what are usually known as the mines on the Caledonian line of reef there has little of importance transpired recently, but important works are in progress, which will undoubtedly bear good fruit. In other parts of the gold-field, however, there have been discoveries of remarkable rich st^nc, and in one instance, the Oolden Calf, a discovery of a most singular kind occurred, which has had the effect not only of retunvng a rich yield to tbe company, wli'ch enabled them to pay a handsome dividend, but it has tended to restore ennfinence in the mines which surround it. The extraordinary richness of the Old Whau mine, one of those situated in the upper Moanataiari, has been the suh.ifct of general comment. It undoubtedly, at the present moment, possesses nil! ueaii Him rmubsii aiivn in jiwiii vi aii.y quartz mine in the Australian Colonies, and the quality of the stone now being taken out of it would bear favorable comparison with any taken out of the Caledoninn in its richest days. We refer to these instances, not because they are solitary, although they are tbe mosi prominent. The gold yield from the month's crushing shows an increase of 14220z over that obtained from tbe previous month. This nf itself is the best indication of prosperity, particularly an the population has Vienn greatly reduced, by an exodus of miners from the Thames to the Palmer River rush in Queensland. Some of those who left for that rush are now returning disappointed, and others will get back as soon as they can. There is at present a positive scarcity of skilled miners, but the fact that the gold yield shows such a large increase in the face of a decreased population is surely a good proof of the wealth and stability of the Thames Gold-Reid." A case of considerable interest, as showing the charges sometimes made by land agents while conducting business under the Land Transfer Act, was heard at Dune^in, on the 30th ulfe. Mr G. F. Reid, as agent for Mr DouU, negotiated a mortgage with. Mr Dalrymple, as agent for Mr Trotter. The amount to be lent by Mr Dalrymple was L 2700. Mr Reid stated he at first received only L 2600 on behalf of his client, and had great difficulty in obtaining the other LIOO. Subsequently, however, he received a pheque for 1.35 6s 3d, and a bill of charges from Mr Dalrymple for L 37 13s 9<i ; the other L 27 apparently being retained by Mr Dalrymple as a commission. The bill for the L 37 13s 9d was a very long one, and contained various items. His Worship disallowed several of the items, amounting in all to Lls 19s Sd, as being unnecessary and illegal, and not allowed by tbe Transfer Act. He also said that the object of the Act was to enable land to be conveyed cheaply, and that it was the high charges maHe by solicitors which led to its being passed, and plainly hinted that the land agents should bear this iv mind. The case was provocative of much bantering between the solicitors engaged in the case and the brokers called as witnesses, as to which made the highest charyes to their constituents.