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Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1801, 14 May 1874, Page 2

The Grey Gorge Bridge, on the Brunner railway line, for which tenders are being invited by the General Government, promises to be a substantial as well as a handsome piece of work. It is a suspension bridge of one span ©f 300 ft, laid on two main cables, composed of seven ropes of twisted wire rope, 4£in in circumference, laid side by side, and six ropes of telegraph wire, each to consist of 30 wires. The end of each of the main cables will be led to a deep tunnel driven in the rock on each side, and anchored in a bed of hewn ashlar and cement mortar. The roadway will be suspended from these cables by iron *ods, of which there will be 31, and will be protected on each side by strong lattice- work of wood . The turrets over which the cables art; carried at either end are of wood-work, but very massive and substantial. The one on the north side iz to be fixed on a bed of masonry, and the other on the south side on crib work, filled in with rubble. The flo»r of the bridge will be Bft higner than the highest known flood level, and about 30ft above the ordinary water level. The contract is to be completed within eighteen months from the acceptance of the tender.

The following' is a copy of a telegram recoiled from Messrs Maguire and Corbett, members of the Provincial Council for the Grey Valley, with regard to protective works at No Town : — " Have made inquiries re wing dam, the answer is, 'That no communication has passed between Mr Whitefoord and Executive since their late visit, and that Engineer estimated cost of dam sixty pounds, which money will be expended after Appropriation Act is passed.' "

Owing to some disagreement having taken place among the members of the Town.Band. that body will have to be re-organised. While this' is to a certain extent to be regretted, the sooner the reconstruction takes place the be ter, as the band has become a public arid most valuable institution, which cannot be dispensed with.

On Friday evening Miss Aitken will deliver some of her most attractive readings, and will be assisted by a number of amateurs, who will provide the musical portion of the entertainment. As the performance on this occasion is for the benefit of Miss Aitken, and as she recently exerted herself in aid of the fun. is of the Grey .River Hospital, we may venture to hope that there will be a full house. It is not often we have the opportunity of listening to readings which combine all the excellencies of the gift of interpreting the gams of our best prose and poetic writers. Misa Aitken, as all who have heard her

knows, possesses the rare gift of giving life to everything she delivers, whether it lie prose or verse; and many compositions, which, iv their hard and ba.re form of point fail % convey to unstudied readers th'-ir full pattjbs and intention, are clothed by her interpretations with the full purpose of the writer. The musical part of the programme — albeit, performed by amateurs— will, no doubtj^as their efforts have always done, please and delight the audience.

jWe hear that a football match will be played next Saturday on the Camp Reserve, which is likely to be productive of some amusement to lookers-on as well as players. The lawyers and bankers are to play all comers, and no doubb many a client and constituent will take this opportunity of paying off old sores. They will commence at three o'clock.

We notice that Constable Barrett was on Wednesday removed from Greymouth to Hokitika. It is only just to say that during the nine months he liaß been on duty in Greymouth, he has earned the respect of all with whom he came in contact.

A public meeting is arranged to be held at Haisty's Hotel, No Town, on Saturday evening, to consider the nature of the objections made by the Returning Officer to a number of additions recently made to the electoral roll.

The regular meeting of the Committee of the Grey River Hospital was held at Gilmer's Hotel, on Wednesday evening, Mr M. Kennedy in the chair. The minutes of the previous meeting having been read and con fired, and the correspondence read and recived, the treasurer reported receipt of the following amount 3:— Donation, J. Shield g, 12s 6d ; Marsden sub-committee, per -J. Card. L 27 3s; Nelson Creek sub-committee, per J. Hicks, L 46 3s ; proceed of Miss Aitken's entertainon behalf of hospital on May 8 LlB 3s 6d ; payments by patients, L 7; sale of vegetables, LI 7s : donation from Capt. Connor, schooner Zephyr, L 10s It was resolved that a cordiai rote of thanks be given to Miss Aitken for her exertions on behalf of the hospital ; and, at her request, that the patronage of the Hospital Committee be given to her farewell entertainmeut on the 15th insb. The accounts for the month amounting to L 237 2s Id were laid on the table and" passed for payment The Visiting Committee reported that on March 31 thure were 28 ptaients in the hospital ; admitted during April, 16 ; discharge 1, 1 6 ; died, 1 ; remaining on April 30, 33. The Visiting Comciittee ior the month are Messrs Re veil, JV Hamilton, and J. Greenwood.

The antimony reefs at Endeavor Inlet, Queen Charlotte Souud, are soon to be worked, and the company are laying ninety chains of a tramway to the reefs.

A large number of Welsh miners are leaving Ballarat (Victoria) ior Wales, to resume work in the coal and iron mines there, the wages they receive there being better than they can earn in Victoria. ;

Mr John Symons, the sole remaining member of the firm of Messrs N. Edwards and Co, Nelson, left Nelson by the Ladybird for Wellington on the Bth inst, where he will embark on board the Cyphrenes, on his journey to England by way of iSan Frauciaoo. Mr Symons, we believe, intends to return in a few months, and in the meantime Mr Hartmann, late -of theN.Z.S. Co., Wellington, is his representative in charge.

Ttie Sydney Morning Herald states that Blondin is positively comipg to Australia by way of India. Blondin's canvas enclosure is reported as the largest ever constructed, being 250 ft long, 200 ft wide, and 50ft high inside walls.

Recent Thames telegrams report the discovery of auriferous quartz of superlative richucps in the Manukau claim, and the news is confirmed by oth r telegrams received In town. The quartz is described as, in point of richness, equal to anything obtained in the celebrated Caledonian claim, and the discovery is naturally looked upon with great interest, not only in its relation to the prospects of the Manukau claim, but as indicating the probable character of the stone yet obtainable in the Golden Crown. Though this is only a single incident, it follows other recent crushings of a highly satisfactory character; and the prospects of the Thames goldfield may undoubtedly be said to have recently assumed a rosy complexion.

A correspondent of the Templar Standard writes respecting the launch of the missionary schooner Southern Cross, at Auckland : — " The newspapers tell us that the timehonored custom of breaking a bottle of wine over the bows of the vessel was dispensed with, as not befitting the launching of, so sacred a thing as a missionary ship ; and yet the newspapers tells us also, that after the launch the company adjourned to partake of a champagne luncheon ! Thus proving that the Inanimate ship, man's workmanship, was a far more sacred thing than man, God's own workmanship."

A few days since, while a casting was bting made at the Temuka (Canterbury) the reservoirs for the molten iron gave way, and the metai ran in all directions, burning fearfully Peter Dugald, one of the fitters. A day or two afterwards, while Dugald was lighting his pipe, somehow the cotton wool, in which his head and face were enclosed caught fire, and seriously burnt him about the head and face.

Major Edwards, R.M., Wanganui, in passing sentence on a Woodlark immigrant the other day, expressed his fear that the introduction of such a class of persons as a peared to have recently arrived, would prove a curse and not a benefit to the settlers.

The Otago Daily Times, not a bad authority in the matter, having been a sufferer, says: — " In a small town, or amongst a small community, there is a knowledge of pvery one by his neighbor which makes any criticism at all approaching that of a personal kind extremely unpopular, this very knowledge of everyone. by his neighbor is a preventative of the growth of any such thing as public opinion. In New Zealand there is no New Zealand public opinion ; as for public opinion in the Provinces, there is nothing deserving such a name extant in any of them. But the knowledge of everyone by his neighbor is also prejudicial to its existence. If tbe various libel cases that have been tried had been heard in a p'.ace where the parties to the actions were unknown, we believe the verdicts would have been different."

We take the following items from the Inangahua Herald of Tusday : — The reef newly struck in the Just-in-Time, at Boatman's, presents every indication of a well denned body of stone, and contains a show of gold in the face equal to anything that has been obtained iv that mine. It will be recollected that the crushing of this company's stone gave a result far exceeding anything either previously or since obtained in the district. — We are informed by Mr Richard Reeves, auctioneer, that he has disposed <.f the Westkud Crushing Company's plant for the sum of L I4OO sterling. The sale was effected privately, and he is not at liberty to disclose the purchaser, but we believe it is for the Inglewood Company. — A leader a foot in thickness has been struck in the United Band of Hope tunnel, and the contractors are ia expectation of intercepting the mam reef every shift. The waggon, containing the new boiler for the Energetic Company, reached Rwefton on Sunday.

The Nelson Colonist says " that the present state of calm in ttie Council may not last, would appear trom a notice cf motion given by the member for Charleston, the object of which is to try to bring about some modification in the construction of the Executive.

Many members desire to see greater promptitude displayed by the Government in carrying out the wishes of th ■ Council when deliberately expressed A want of care in this rjgpect is manifest — a motion for' a return, last 1 session which was not replied to,' was again placed upon the notice payer at the outset of the present session. It was thereupon produced, but it bore date the 6th May, the day after it had been.aaked^fp^ a second time. One or two inther ' instances^ of tEe : same sort might be mentioned but one is enough to indicate what we mean. It may be said that these are trifles, but they are the grit which, getting into the machinery, retard its motion, and take from its usefulness, while helping to feed a desire which, frojn a small beginning, seems to be gaining groupd, that the Executive should be responsible to the OouaciL" *