THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY MONDAY, MAY 18. 1874.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1804, 18 May 1874, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY MONDAY , MAY 18. 1874.

OuJei telegrams, the other day from Nelson relating; to the carrying ;of a resolution by Mrl)bhne bearing upon the question of a responsible Executive, were not very intelligible. From Nehon papers to hand by the. Wallace, we find that the resolution was : as follows, and was carried by a .njajprity of twelve to eight :-r---"That in order to restore the effi-. ciency of the Nelson Provincial Council as a /representative institution,- it is the ' opinion of this. Council 'that ITheJSxecutiye. Government Act,' under which, certain members of this Council hold certain offices should "be repealed, and other provisions' made in lieu thereof j" We gather from the Mail that the debate was conducted in a temperate and earnest manner, but that ..there is little probability of effect being., given to the resolution on account of the of opinion amongst those who voted for' it. Our Nelson contemporary- ought tp -know best, and >we are inclined ;to think from from ; what.;. we.% have recently observed, that Nelson politics are of the debating society school— mere declamations; upon ; abstract questions, and devoid of all' practical 'results'. How in the world a majority of the Council : conld allow Mr Donne to move a resolution, the principles of which they agree with, and at the same time refuse to him leave to introduce a Bill to give effect to it, is one of those mysteries for which no solution can be found outside the doors of the Nelson Reform League and other schoolboy circles in that city of indolent intellects and lazy government which is appropriately situated in Blind Bay. We may observe that the division-list was as } follows for the motion as amended : — Messrs Gibbs, Boase, Kerr, Parker, Rout, Donne, Baigent, Adams, Iyess, Maclean, Wastney, Sharp. Against ;:— The Provincial: : Treasurer, ; Provincial Srilicitor, Provincial Secretary, Messrs Tarrant, Kelling, Maguire, Shapter, Corbett. What will be the next step we woncler ? Perhaps it would be as well if the majority of twelve, if it have any concrete quality at all, were to be satisfied with .the victory they have gained ; make up their minds as to what they want to be done, or left undone, and dictate their terms to the Superintendent. If the personnel pf the Executive is objectionable in any pf its features, the majority cm say •' We desire sp and so;" otherwise we will not grant you any supplies. If the policy of the Executive does not receive the confidence, of the Council, then let the majority come. down at once with a direct vote of want of confidence. There are many ways by which a majority can obtain its le^itimata ends without the necessity of formal luws as to its "political responsibility." The question of responsibility can be settled by the Council at any moment it thinks fit, and such motions as that of Mr Gninness last session, and that of Mr Donne just now, will effect little good. The fact is that there is apparently no one in the Council n't to hold the .position of a leader of an Opposition. Petty and personal jealousies , have aforetirao/interfered with the public welfare in the' Nelson Council, and it is evident, that the twelve who voted with Mr Donne the other 'night have no reepgnised leader, no do they represent an organised party. Under such circumstances the Executive can afford a defeat, even so apparently decisive as that of Tuesday last.

Tn a. statement of the revenue returns from the Grey Valley,' which appeared in our iseue of the 14th instant, one very important item was omitted, namely, the amount received as fees in the several Resident Magistrate's Courts throughout the district. The revenue from this source came to L 74 0a 3d more than that received from fees in the Resident Magistrate's «'ourt in tl.e Inangahua and Lyell districts, the figures being respectively for the Inangabua and Lyeli, L441 15s 3<l, and for the Grey Valley, L 515 15s 6d. ■ This latter item brings the total local revenue of the Grey Valley up to LG44B 6s 3d. instead of L 5932 10? 9d, as previously stated,, and places the Grey division in a still more favorabls position a? regards its importance as a revenue producing district.

At the Resident Magistrate's Court, An^ura. on Saturday, a man named Albert Cormick wag charged with- stealing a meer*' scbaum pipe, the property of James Kefr, from Rowley's boarding-house, Kichmoud Qnay, Greymouth,' on the 22nd April. The ac used vas arrested on Friday at tbe Coiirt House, Ahaura, by Sub-Inspector Goodall from his resemblance to a description of the thief which bad .been forwarded to Ahaura by the police of Greymouth. Tbe defendant did not deny the pipe was the property of Eerr, but he stated that he borrowed it and could prove his assertion .On the application of Mr Unodall, the accused was remanded to Greymouth.

A correspondent writes with regard to the Town Surveyor's report, read at the Borough Council on Friday night last, asking if in bis quoted price of ss' 3d per yard for the stone, work on Richmond Quay he includes the raising of the stone and all incidental expenses in connection with setting the same. This js evido tly the Surveyor's meaning from the reading of the report, but should it not be so perhaps be will explain.

The result of last week's crushing of the Wealth ; of Nations claim gave 2940? 14dwt of amalgam.

In the Public Works Committee's report of the Borough Council, published on Saturday, a serious misprint occurred with regard to the price at which it was pi o osed to put up to' auction the Municipal reserves. Instead of ■■'■'»• L2OO per acre per auuutD," it should have been only 12. '

. . yesterday Gi eypionth was. visited by one -of the heaviest wind storms that has been I experienced for some years. The gale — or rather the series of spasmodic galea— com menced from., the. N.E on Saturday night and continued at intervals until last night Considerable damage was done to roofs, . verandahs, aixl wnd>Wß in various pkris oi the town, ''the roof of K.ennedy's staiiles, near the hospital, was lifted bodily .off and ' .carried, into ; the hnspjtal ■ grounds The* shutters of the shop windows pf Messrs Thompson, Smijfili, 'and hartley* ''and of Messrs Thvmas and M .Death were blow..

•)wn. and mo great w;i< th force of the wind hat they ha>l to l>e. nailed up to secure them, >heets of iron roofinn gyiated in the air like so many pieces of paper, and it is a wonder that no one was struck by them. The p.s Dispatch had hard work to cross the bar in the teeth of the heavy squalls on her return rfrom-tenderingthe-Aibio»,^nd.-theriv.ec..w l as: . one sheet of spray caught up hy the wind* \h accident, which fortunately 'was riot attended .with fatal consequences, occurred ■ofi i CT the^wbßrf~ Ji ''A r boy; named^Shielus^^was blown from the : steps opposite the Club Hotel, but held on by the planking until rescued' by a sailor from the schooler Kamma. Had assistance, been delayed a moment longer it is probable the little fellow would have been, drowned, another child was blown off one of the gangways, ''arid 1 fell on to the stone work below, and received severe bruises on the head and face. No rain fell.

The Hokitika Bo ouch Council apnears to bft drifting towards rowdyism. The Register of Saturday says that on the previous evening tbe Council entered upon a debace regarding the Public W orks Committee, and, says our contemporary, " the large audience present were gratified with an entertainment such as, we believe, no other public body in this Province but the Borough Council of Hokitika could furnish; During the course of the 'debate,' Cr Barrett observed, with his usual go d taste, that Cr. Higgin's portrait nailed to the wall would make everyone grin ; Cr. Cross gave a fellow-coun-cillor the lie direct ; points of order we<*e jris j n to when there was no order; and the M iyor was t«*rsi(»tently insulted hy one or two of the most uncouth councillors Or. Hawkins endeavored to show his superiority .to his fellows by quoting 'Acts' ad libitum, in 'which he was uusuc^es'fuUy emulated by Cr. Barrett. nitimat«;ly, after about one hour' 8 tumult, the Council adjourned until, eleven p.m. On resuming at that most unusual hour,-' Or. Learmonth's motion was carried, in the absence, and to the great wrath of, Cr. ..Barrett, whose watch 4 and the. town clock, as it ' subsequently appear -.d, were at issue. . Cr. : Cross r«f used to sit down at the bidding of the Mayor, but, being told by that dignitary that he would be fined, he subsided with great rapidity. ■ )ur reporter left the. Town Hall at twelve (midnight) leaving the Council engaged in a row about lighting the town, on a motion by Cr. Cross."

The football m teh on Saturday last between the lawyers and bankers against all comers resulted in one of the best games ever played on th- Camp Reserve. In spite of the heaviness of the ground, both sides played with spirit aud pluck. The lawyers and bankers, we imagine, must have felt somewhat diminished confiden -o when they saw at the commencement' of the garni the host arrayed against , them, a'oout 25 in nuntber, whilst in their own ranks they conld only count about 15 Independently of numbers, the weight was decidedly in favor of the all comers,. they having with some outsiders been powerful enough, we should have thought, to frighten the, other side off the ground. The all comers won the choice j of goals, and after some very s irited play i for about an h >ur, they kicked tbe first | goal. The lawyers and bankers, however,. i although having had rather a roiie>h time of I it were by no means willing to submit to be | beaten, aad, after a change of goals, we 1 notice. l that they kept^he ball well up in the enemy's quarters during the rest of the nfternoon. At about a quarter p*st five thfy were succe-sful in kicking a goal ami . tbe play .therefore result-jd in une goal being kick'd by each side. We understand that 1 next Saturday a match is to bfi played be-tw-en 15 of each of the side* playing on 8-itur<iay. Th« players are to be picked by their respective cap aius. | Mr George Walsh received rather severe ' injuries owing to tbe fall of his horse on the . journey up from Grey mouth to Keefton, last week. He is at present un-iei medical treatment.

A meeting of the directors of the Inangabua Gold-mining and Quartz-crushing • 'ompany was to be held at Keefton fin "aturdav, to decide to make arrangements for the immediate supply of the machinery.

It is understood, says the Herald, that the residents of Larry's re°fs and the township of Colinton purpose forwarding a petition through Mr Bull, 1 >cal postmaster, to the head of the depart mean at Wellington, for a bi-weekly tcail service to Colinton. This could be effected by extending the present service to Capleston at a very slightly increased cost. In the course of a few weeks a crushing-mill of ten heads of stampers will be erected for tbe Caledonian Company. Owing to this altered condition of things' a considerable population is now located in that district, so that a very strong c aim oan be made for increased postal facilities.

We (Herald) are glad to receive further favorable news from Larry's. In the Argyle Company, the contractors driving the tunnel have tapped a large body of water, necessitating their working almost waist deep in w <ter, and from this indication it is well nigh certain that the reef is at hand. In No. 2 'Soufch also the driving at the north end has disclosed a good solid reef, where promising leaders only had been met with. The stone also brought to grass during the past few days has been of very excellent quality.

At tbe Resident Magistrate's Court, on Saturday, before '•. King and J. Greenwood. Esqrs., J.P.s, Mary Martin was cha ged on the information of Martha Hynes, with usiug obscene language in a public place. The parties are neighbors, and the quarrel in which the alleeed language was used, took place in the back yards of the premises occupied respectively by the plaintiff and defendant. Mr Newton for the defence argued that the evidence adduced did not support the charge. But even if it d|d, the place where it was assumed the language was made use of was not a public place according to the Act. The Bench held the same view, and dismissed the information, each party to pay their own costs. Martin v; Hynea'was a cross-action relating to the same quarrel, and Mr Newton asked to withdraw it, which was granted. . . ■

The following figures, compiled'- by a competent authority, shows the income and expenditure of the Melbourne Argus: Daily circulation, f&JG copies ; income derived therefrom, L 5 8 .17 5; daily income derived from advertisements, 1237 4s; the entire mechanical and literary staft numbers 89; the annual income of the office isL92 365 12; the, working expenses, L34, 800 -net yearly income, L 57.567 12s. .-

Accuiding to his report to the Superintentendent of Nelson, Mr F. Guinness, who was recently appointed as Resident Magistrate in the Golden- Hay district;, 'g not over and above comfortable in his new quarters. H e i-ajs: — " 1 muse now call your-llonor's »tteutuin to the' position 'l am placed in. I fiud that the duties of die office of thn Receiver • f.'th* Gold Revenue,. Clerk to the Bench, Postmaster, who has to administer vioney rder. Savings Bank business, are sufficient in themselves, if properly and fully performed to occupy the . whole of ray cimf, consequently when engaged iv the duties of Warden, .' .'.Resident' Magistrate, Registration and Returning f)^Jcp'r, '<*r auy of the other dv tit si "have to perform some , -ait of the others rauVt fall in airekr; to the serious loss of the public service. L have been working sometimes till ' ini.lnight from nine in th&'-tnormii'g,' and sriil cannot make up lee- way j' 1 therefore I trust your Honor wjlj be pleased to allow a clerk to be ap-

p inttd r.o this iffi'je ; this iffijer's iutiesmi h f , be p. rfo me ', a . pr-senc at le ist, by a cun--Btc»ble, fur unless the Government are willing to allow tttu present most unsatisfactory state of things to continue, some change will have to be made ; the district constable here is totally unfit for his duties, and indeed £i^ms-ta ] heli^;e,that.he.is^only paid to Berve an occasional summons, and possibly attend at the^Uourt if spechlly ordered to do so, he is useless as a peace-offi ;er, and in fact had turned the look-up into a private dwell-ing-house for hiu married daughter. The district constab'e of'Tafcaka is a more efficient officer, but still far from bein={ whatacor stable should be t would therefore recommend that a constable should be stationed here to assist in the' office and have charge of the whole district : business could be so arranged that his services would always be available when most needed, and by this arrangemeot I think the efficiency of all the departments would be very much increased at a small expense— one which I think the increase of the revenue which might be looked would compensate."

On Friday evening last a party of friends of Mr G. Preshaw, Jate manager of the Bank of New South Wale 3, Hokitika numbering between 40 and 50, met at tbs Empire Hotel, Hokitika, to present to that gentleman a testimonial on his leaving the Colony for Victoria.' The chair was takeu by his Honor the Superintendent, and the vice-chair by his Honor Judge Harvey. Amongst thosepresent Were Messrs Roberts Duncan, Campbell, Patten, Plaisted, Lazir^outh, Revell, Hall, Linfon, Tabart, Turnbull, and the Mayor. After complimentary speeches, Mr Preshaw was presented with a purse of LIOO soys. ,■ -;

We learn irom th« West Coast Times that the Hokitika brewers have been put in a state iOf fermentduring the. past day or two, by. being ma^e. aware that they have omitted ,to apply for their licenses in time, ii accordance with the new Act. What the ultimate result will be, remains to. be determined, but we (Times) should "think, that, as the matter has been entirely an oversight,. and the question is only one of revenue, there being no possible objection raised to the granting of the licenses, there will surely be some means found whereby the businesses will not be further interfered with. We notice that the same question has cropped up in o'.hcr Provinces. At the Licensing Court in Dunedin last month it was pointed out that the Act of 1873 says nothing about brewers lodging applications. Under the Licensing Act of 1865 brewers and applicant* for whole sale licenses had drily to apply to the Resi dent Magistrate, at any time, and not to the Licensing Court. Our bi ewers hold licenseunder the old Act. but have omitted to renew their applications under the now Act, henoit3 difficulty. We understand the p int is now uuder consideration here as elsewhere.

The locomotive endue recently ;imponte'i per Isabella, from l>un*>din, by Messrs Haworth and Co., the sawmill owners of JJoki tika, was tried on Tuesday, on the tram lines, and worked admirably., The ent^ini will, when in full working order, pull six truck loads an once, and is calculated tsave the proprietors of the ruills some Lltt per week. The average cost of a week's fe««i for each horse employed in drawing liiniie fur the mills is LI 15.*, and oii wet days, which average two per week during the winter seasons, the horses have of course to be fwi. though they do no work. In this respect the locomo ive has grently'the advantage, seeing that when idle it consumes n 'thing. At the 'trial, the engine, with a loaded truck behind it, travelled at the rate of at least seven miles per hou r .

. The Register of Saturday says :— "The attitude taken up by his Honor with respect to the (Jbristchurch road difficulty, and tbe enenjy and tact disDlayed by him in his communications with the General Government and the Superintendent of Canterbury on the subject — as revealed in the correspondence laid on the table of the Council — will, we feel sure, meet with general approbation. His Honor has declined to attempt to re-construct those portions of the road, and the bridges, that were washed away by the flood ; but, 'as far as the mf ana at his (1 sposal would admit, has made such temporay provision as will prevent all traffic on the road being stopped. ' From the tone of the correspondence referred to, we have but little doubt that during the ensuing Beasion of Parliament, Weatland will, be relieved, if not of the whole, at all events of a large portion of the cost maintaining this road. In one of his letters to tLe Government, the Superintendent, after btating the utter inability of the Province to undertake the work necessary to restore the road, points out that Westand had paid for its maintenance from Ist January, 1868, to July, 1873, no less a sum than L3J..569. If we add to this the interest and sinking fund on, say L 150.000, the cost of constructing the Westland portion of the road, which is religiously deducted from our capitation allowancee yearly, we can but marvel that, despite thsse grievous burdens, we have been enabled, not only to meet the ordinary expenses of Government, but also to construct a large nuenber of public works."