THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY THURSDAY, JULY 2, 1874.

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1843, 2 July 1874, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY THURSDAY, JULY 2, 1874.

There is every reason to believe that the present Bession of the Westland Provincial Council will be brought to a close to-day or to-morrow at latest, although a glance at the Order Paper would lead anyone to suppose that there was another month's business on hand. And no doubt there is, if sufficient time was only given for it to be properly elaborated,; and for a few more"want-of-confidence motions to be in troduced. But we have reason to believe that it is the intention of the Superin-. .t,nndenL__up.pjL^_reßßißeßiaiinn^ from a majority oft the merriociß^ •eo--prorogue~crie~' Council, and put an end to the present unseemly state of things, which appears to be neither more or less than a perpotual scramble, for place and power. That this representation will be made and promptly acceded to we have no. doubt, judging by the following remarks of yesterday's West Coast Times :— MThereris every probability that the Provincial Council session will be brought to a close to-day, and that public affairs will go on undisturbedly for some montfis to come, as far as Westland is concerned. In stating that a motion was to be tabled for a dissolution, we had good grounds for the allegation, but we are glad that the better reason of the member referred to prevailed, and that the session is to terminate peacefully. Members cannot congratulate themselves on! having achieved great results however, fora more purposeless session has" hardly ever been held, but they have at least made a start, and on their next trial will probably come off with more flying colors. The little game of ' hide and seek' in connection with the sweets of office has been played out, and the existing Executive remain masters of the situation, but it is probable that on the close of the session further changes will be made. The position of Treasurer interferes seriously with Mr Todd's private business, and it is likely that he will resign it into other hands. Should he do so, the position will, we have reason to believe,, be offered to a Provincial member, of what may be termed the Opposition, and it likely to be accepted by that gentleman. Nothing better could happen as far as the interests of the country are concerned, for by such a coalition the scenes of. the past will be avoided, and unanimity, hitherto un" known, will prevail in Provincial circles. That changes of the kind would be advantageous no. one can doubt, for though the present Provincial Treasurer is upright; honorable, a man of unblemished reputation, and one that does credit to the he occupies, his private business will not allow him to devote as much attention to his public duties as the office he has undertaken requires. Under these circumstances, should he give way, it will be to serve the public interest without damaging his own."

The system of " responsible Government" Which haß been introduced into the new Province of Westland: and the old Province of Nelson at or about the same period, appears to have attracted attention in Wellington, as.it forms the subject of a very critical article in the Government organ. It is as well for. the members of the Westland ; Council to know that their proceedings .are being ciosely watched in Wellington, and freely commented upon. : As it is always instructive to learn what is said or written about a Government,' or community elsewhere, we re-publish the following remarks with regard to : the institution of the "responsible" system into the two Provinces from . the New Zealand Times : — " In the case of Westland, there has been sa' readiness to pronounce an expression of 'no confidence' in the first-formed Executive which is altogether exceptional, and this extreme readiness provokes the fear that, under the new 'form of government which Westland possesses, its affairs' are not likely to be conducted with any more uucceßS than they were when the district was designated a County, arid' when the sole subject of a discussion i n

connection with administration was the appointment of a Chairman from among the small body of elected Councillors; In the first-formed Executive there were sufficiently competent' men for the 'duties devolving upon them as Treasurer, Solicitor, and Secretary for Goldfields, although the latter office might without injury to anyone have been omitted ; but, Bimply because the absence of the Treasurer was necessary for several waeks in th« year, through the fact of his being also a member of the House of Representatives, the Executive of whom he formed the head and front was, sans ceremonie, ousted, and another was all too speedily elected iv its place. From men who almost achieved the sublime in their enthusiasm in t\e interests of the Province, the Council retreated in their selection to others who, without any disrespect to the individuals, may be said to approach the ridiculous as occupants of office connected with Provincial administration. Possibly because there was no alternative, but still, unfortunately for the future of the Province, they selected two gentlemen who are the merest, novices as representatives, and infinitely more so as administrators, and thus for the first year of its history under its new constitution, Westland is left to the management of men who are without any previous pretensions to the management of any but matters of the humblest and most personal interest. Fortunately both enjoy the reputation of being of a practical turn and straightforward in their private transactions, and in that circumstance there may be much merit, though it is not more than their temporary predecessors could claim. In Kelson, the experiment of introducing responsible Government, is les3 of a novelty, but only until now was it permitted to be developed. Its propriety had previously been much discussed ; but conservative feeling prevented its accomplishment, except in such a form that it was much more a name than a reality. .Now that it has been in-' troduced practically as well as nominally, .it is a pity that there were few higher pretensions made as reasons for a change in the personality of the Executive than that some men were ready to accept somewhat smaller salaries than others, and that they were prepared to proceed with retrenchment by the removal of Resident Magistrates and other officials whose presence, it was well-known to those best acquainted with the circumstances, could not possibly be dispensed with. With loud assertions as to their desire and determination to economise, the action of- the Executive in that direction has degenerated into insinuations as to the utility of Wardens who have been specifically mentioned, and as to the manner in which they might better discharge their official work, and it is impossible to resist the impression that personal antipathies may have to some extent bectime mixed with a probably sincere and avowedly high sense of public duty. The numerous meetings which have been held «>n the gold-fields of the Pro vince, admitting them to have been incited by no action on the part of officials, are sufficient indication of the feeling that _there_is_anythiug but perfect sympathy witli a pollcyorreTTßDcnmenx^wnen bimipolicy implies additional cost and trouble upon, the part of the community generally; and there is a strong probability that the new Nelson Executive will be no more able to realise the popular conception of an efficient Executive than did their predecessors. The one saving feature in their creation and existence is their responsibility to the Council, and upon the character of the Council of course, depends the verdict to be pronounced next session, as to whether they have faithfully discharged their duties and their promises. They are so tar different from the Westland Executive that they have had more experience in matters political, and, with that advantage, they should be asked to render at the next meeting of the Council a more complete and satisfactory account of their proceedings than their contemporary novices in the sister Province."

We understand that the tender of Messrs Kempell and M'Whirter, for maintaining the Greymouth and Marsden road for twelve months, has been accepted. j The flood-gate at the Kanieri Lake has now been finished, and on the completion of a short tunnel water can be run through the race for a distance of five miles. In consequence of the great thickness in the reef in the Golden Fleece Company's mine, the contractors have been compelled to abandon their contract for driving along the reef ; and the directors thereupon decided to continue driving with day labor The reef already shows a thickness of nine feet, and is not yet entirely penetrated. Prom Auckland we learn that the City Improvement Commissioners' loan of L 50.000 has not been floated; only 5000 were applied for at par. Captain Rough has been appointed Deputy Superintendent , of the Province of Nelson — that is, of course, to act during Mr Curtis's attendance in Wellington as a member of the House of Representatives. The fashion in the Province has hitherto been to appoint to this office, .on such, occasions, a member of the Executive ; but times and circumstances have changed. It is cot stated who is to practically fulfil the duties of the Provincial Treasurer, who is also a member of the House. Formerly, arrangements were made for the discharge of the duties, which in Nelson meant both the work of book-keeping and the maintenance of the seats, position, and dignity of the Executive in the Provincial CounciL An offer was made, in the Council to provide the necessary clearical assistance, but the policy of retrenchment which was enunciated did not permit of this offer being accepted: The understanding, though it may not be the case, is that the duties of the office: will >c divided, between the so-called Gold-fields Secretary and the one non-official member who is attached to the Executive, contrary, it is alleged, to the spirit and letter of the Executive Act. We learn from Sydney^ by way of Melbourne, that the Legislative Council of New SotithWales has agreed to the resolutions pioposed by the Government for subsidising a telegraphic cable between Normantown and Singapore. As the Governments of Queensland and New Zealand had long ago obtained the assent of the Parliaments of, th.se Colonies respectively, and only the action of the Legislature of New South Wales was waited for, active steps will no doubt be taken now to complete the projected work. We are sorry that our contemporary (the West Coast Times) has been hoaxed once more. Yesterday it gave the following, which is a simple canard :— " The Borough Council of Greymouth is particularly unfortunate in its agreements and in its law cases. It seldom aues, without being defeated, and it as Beldom ' frames a contract without leavinga loophole. It trusts to much to an official kaowledge, which would as readily

undertake the governing of the universe .as regulating a corporate body. It exemplifies to the letter what sort of a client the man has who is always his own Solicitor. The great story of the Moriarty on tke harbor works is now so well known that we need not repeat it, but we hear that the sequel to the tale will shortly come to light. Though we do not vouch for the truthfulness of the described tableaux as given to us, we hear that the plans and reports were duly forwarded through a firm who are not it all grateful to that Corporate body from, its recent action towards them ; that they vere received and carefully perused, and as cirefully conveyed by steamer, for the ultimate edification 1 of aUght whom they may concern, some considerable distance beyond tiie town boundary of Greymouth." Tn a private letter received by a gentleman in Dunedin from a friend in Auckland the writer states that the Samoa rush is a regular swindle. This bears out to a great extent the telegram we published lately. The writer says:— "The specimens were taken down to Samoa by a Thames waterman for the purpose of a swidle. They were evidently brought back here, and recognised by the 1 captain of the schooner who took the waterman to Samoa. The boatman, who has returned here, when accused of the deception, fully admitted that the specimens were obtained from the Long Drive Company." An accident -was lately reported to have» happened at the Port Chalmers Railway pier to a man named Antonio. The accident is said to have occurred under the following circumstances : — A number of men were leaning against some trucks intently gazing at the working of the dredge, when the trucks against which they were supporting themselves were required, and the horse usually employed for moving them was hooked on. Before moving them the driver called three times to the men to stand aside. They all, so far as the driver could see, moved away; but Antonio, getting confused, instead of moving away, got in between two trucks, which were about a yard apart, and was looking around to see what all the noise was about. One of the trucks being loaded, he was not noticed until the horse Had the carriages in motion, when Mr Dale saw the man's position, and succeeded in getting the driver to unhook the horse, but not before the unfortunate man was jammed. The truck behind him fortunately being empty, it rolled away from him. Had it, however, been loaded, his injuries would have proved very serious. The buffers caught him in the abdomen and small of the back.

Speaking of the state of the population in the western district of New South .Wales— the people from whom the Halls and the Gardiners of that Colony have sprung— the Sgdney Morning Herald remarks ;— ln the remote and thinly peopled districts of the colony there are sundry families in which the children are brought up to utter lawlessness. These families, to the credit of our population be it Baid, are less numerous than might have been expected, considering the temptatiras offered by our Lands Acts to the needy free selector on a solitary run. Still the number is considerable— quite large enough to be fraught with serious danger to . society. The parents are mostly illiterata, and their luckless offspring are brought up out of reach of church or school. To the latter, indeed, they could in many cases only be sent at the risk of forfeiting the selections made in their names ! They can ride,-drive stock, and' keep a sharp look out for a boundary rider or intrusive policeman ; but here their education ends. Convict one of these young ( hopefuls as accessory to a theft -O.T~C«TOle}~ atld— lion toon. Jio-oomoo-oiitof prison worse than he went in. Be it remembered that it is from this class, if any, the bushrangersj of the future are to be looked for. In our towns, again, there is mostly a certaii element of juveni'e dishonesty, bred of sordid homes and bad examples, with which it is at present impossible to cope. We believe the Government could hardly confer a greater blessing on the community than by taking up this question in earnest, and providing a reformatory really worthy of the name. We want a place to which a Judge can legally send a juvenile delinquent for wholesome systematic discipline— a place where the young victim of neglect and bad example may " cease to do evil," and " learn to do well." Some time' since (says the New Zealand Herald) a vessel belonging to Captain Peacocke was stopped by natives, who refused to let her proceed up the Piako River. They insisted upon LSO payment to land to the owner's farm at L 5 a canoe load, which would amount to about LIOO. There are many other settlers in the district who ware liable to similar impediments to their operai tions. Captain Peacocke communicated with the Government, and an arrangement has been made by which the vessel and the goods of ether settlers may be taken up the Piako upon condition that the eel weirs be not destroyed, or compensation paid for damaging them. The General Government have set. a foot negotiations for the purchase of these weirs, so as to free the navigation of the Piako River. A collection of natural history specimens, which is deserving of more than passing notice, was recently received at the Colonial Museum, from Professor Loven. of the Stockholm Zoological Museum, who is recognised as one of the foremost amongst naturalists of the present day. . The collection comprises seventy-seven species of Scandinavian and Arctic ciustacea, and thirty-eight species of annelids, all preserved in spirits, and with these specimens have arrived several publications containing well executed engravings of the specimens themselves. The collection was forwarded to the Colonial Museum by Professor Loven in return "for a number of specimens forwarded from this Colony by Dr Hector, to assist in completing the Natural History Department of the Stockholm Museum. ' The Governor of New South Wales, Sir Hercules Robinson, seems to give frequent and free expression to his personal opinion on subjects political. Lately he referred to the question of the federation of the Australian Colonies, in relation to which he said :— "For my part I look forward with the greatest confidence to increased facilities of communication between these Colonies, as a practical solution for many of the differences and difficulties which at present appear to be " insuperable. With a uniform' tariff— which must come sooner or later— and railway trains running daily between Sydney and Melbourne oa the one side, and Newcastle and Brisbane on the other, border difficulties and all petty parochial jealousies and rivalries will melt away ; and' the inhabitants of every part of this vast continent will soon be so closely united by the bonds of goodwill, that they will advance by a few natural and easy steps, first to a Customs union, and eventually to complete Australian federation," Upon this the Melbourne .4 rgrws remarks :— "Thero can be no doubt, we think, ' that in these few words his Excellency has sketched the coming course of events. At present the capitals of the various Colonies are only in communication by aea._ If any resident of an inland town wishes to visit Adelaide, Sydney, or Brisbane, he comes to Melbourne, and there takes ship to what seems to him to be like a foreign port. But when the railway systems of the various Colonies reach their borders, and the intercommunication between capital and capital extends through the whole intervening country, all local distinctions will Bppedily be broken down and abolished. The intert wiriin/j of country distriots will overrule, the alousios of each metropolis, and then there

will arise a cry for that complete union for general purposes which many look on now as an unattainable blessing." The Segister saya that by the amended return of the amounts which have been expended out of the vote of a LIOOO for General Contingencies, which was brought up by the Provincial Treasurer on Thursday night, we perceive that altogether the sum of L 365 14s has been debited to this vote, leaving a balance of L 634 6s. In the former return, made last week, a number of the items charged were for "outstanding liabilities," and should not have been debited to the contingency vote. A small rush to a place called Eevell's Terrace, about two miles from the Greenstone township, is reported. Feran and party are the prospectors, and about forty men have taken up claims in the locality. A considerable area of back country in the neighborhood remains unprospected. The Daily Tribune states that "it is rumored, we are not aware whether correctly or otherwise, that the General Government have sold the steamer Luna to a Sydney firm for the sum of L 12 ,000, and that the old favorite will be replaced by a new and large vessel now on ita way out from England. Captain Fairchild, in addition to having the command of the new steamer, will take a general oversight of the working of the steam launches now building for the four important sea-ports of the colony." It has long been known that thejarrah timber of Western Australia enjoys perfect immunity from the ravages of the teredo navalis, which has caused the destruction of numerous piers and jetties not only on the Australian coast, but also in China and the tropical seas. During the past few days two pieces of wood have been on view at the rooms of Captain Lukey, Collins street west, Melbourne, which fully prove the power of the jarrahia resisting the attacks of the sea- worm above named . It appears that about two years since a barque named the Midas, built in America, principally of hecmatack, loaded a cargo of jarrah timber in one of the West Australian ports, but on her voyage she was wrecked in, Geographe Bay. The two pieces of wood which have been on view were a portion of the vessel's bottom and a piece of her cargo of jarrah. Both pieces have been exposed to the action of the sea for the same period, but while the hecmatack wag a perfect honeycomb of cells, tbe jarrah was untouched, and was as sound as the day it was cut in the forest. . The wood has been- inspected by a large number of gentlemen interested in the matter, and they are all of opinion that the high eulogiums passed on the jarrah timber are fully borne out by this practical test.