Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1867, 30 July 1874, Page 2

; AMoNa : the returns lately presented, to Parliament^ (says the New Zealaird Titws) was; one. showing the expenses incurred in connection, with each of the immigrant ships that have arrived in New Zealand, in the course of the year ending 31st May, 1874. The ships were: sixty-three in number. The total amount of expenditure .in connection with them was L 25,010. The number of immigrants they brought. was 12,901, and the amount of gratuities paid in connexion with theiri was L 13,24 5; cartage, wharfage, maintenance, &c, amounted to L 747 6; quarantine and medical expenses amounted t0L3455. In. the:. case of -the ship Punjaub, that arrived in Lyttleton,, there was a Commission of Inquiry which cost LBO, and the quarantine expenses in connection with ""her am outi ted to L 990. The expenses in connection with the Douglas, at Wellington,.. were over L2OO. Those .of ./the: Duke of Edinburgh, also at that pprt, reached L 95. The wreck of the shid '■ cost the , Gfoverninent LI 168, of which L 685 werp expended in clothing for the passengers. A detention,' of the ship Soimitar at Port Chalmerfl for threa days

cost the country L 69. The quarantine expenses in connection with the fourteen ii]bips whiidh #r ought disease with them, '•JTJBre as fojlbws :— Edwin Fox (Otago), L 139; Halcione (Wellington), L 11 4; Punjaub (Canterbury); L 99 0; Douglas (Wellington), L2o9;Lady Jocelyn (Otago), L 17 1; Duke of Edinburgh (Wellington), L 9 5;. Ocean Mail (Wellington), L4l ; Mongol (all ports), L 584; Carnatic(j()fcagb), L 25 1; Scimitar (Otago), L4BB ; City of Glasgow (Wellington), L9O ; Woodlark: (Wellington), L 55 10s ; Dorette (Auckland), LlB4 ; and Golden Sea (Wellington), L 45. Of nominated immigrants, ,the 1729 who arrived were distributed as follows :— Canterbury, • 661 ; Otago, 41 5 ; Wellington, 227 ; Auckland, 189 ; Westland, 90 .; H a wk'e's Bay, 77 ; Nelson, 30; Taranakiy 24; and'Marlborough^ie. Miss Aitken will give one of her entertainments at Marsden, on Saturday. A few days afterwards she will appear at the Greenstone. The old saying that people must go from home to hear news of the place they are living in, had confirmation last night in a rather confused telegram we received from the Press Agency at Wellinton with reference to the Greenstone rush. We were seriously informed that " gold had been struck in a shaft, behind the terrace previously opened, at four feet in depth, with excellent prospects, and an estimated depth of wash-bfJlOft." Ten feet of washdirt in four feet sinking is not a bad beginning for a. new rush, even supposing it .was about to take place at Wellington. A special meeting of the Committee of Management of the Grey River ' Hospital was held at Gilmer's 1 Hotel, last evening, for the purpose of receiving tenders for supplies for the ensuing six months. The following were the tenders accepted :— Groceries, Duncan M'Lean ; wines and spirits, Duncan M'Lean; meat, Woolfe and Kille'en, at 4fd perlb;; flax mattrasses, W. Hart, 225, and pillows', 3s 6d ; coal, F. Lloyd, 19s per ton ; bread, R. Kettle, 7Jd per 4lb loaf ; milk, W. Fairhall, 4£d per quart ; funerals, J. Quinn, L 3 10s each; drapery, as per schedule, Thomas andM'Beath. : Serjeant S. C. W. Mpller, of the Grejrmouth police force, has been appointed local Inspector, under the new Act (Bradshaw's), for "Regulating the Hours of Labor of ; Females" in factories, workshops, &c. It is still an open question whether barmaids come under the denomination of the "workers" referred to in the Act, which is now in force in all the principal towns of the Colony. j News has been received of a rich, leader having been cut in the Monte Christo claim, at the Lyell. It is in the uprise, and the manager states that it is from four to five inches thick and shows good gold. A telegram in the iWestport Star states : that Messrs M'Meckan and Blackwood's , steamers will not call at Westport until the Cape Fool wind lighthouse is erected. The Gross is of opinion that the removal of the ...Beat of Government from Wellington is not probable, but it is not at all unlikely that efforts will be made to conetitu 1 c Wellington into a federal city, excising it from the Province, and making Wanganui the seat of the Provincial Government. The question once raised may extend, and may even take the shape of an attempt to abolish Provincialism in the North Island. ' Sir Hercules Robinson, Governor of New South Wales, having liberated Gardiner against the vote of the : House, a writer in the Town and Country Journal suggests that - a petition .. should . be got up . asking for the recall of his Excellency. Gardiner is now ion his way to San Francisco. ! From Nelson we hear that the Perseverance Company's mine and plant have been sold by auction to Robert Levin and others for L 796. ■■" Another well-known face has passed away from among us, says the "Southern Cross," and the Auckland bar has sustained a serious loss. Mr Andrew Beveridge, who was • injured some time ago in a railway accident which happened between Onehunga and Auckland late, at nighc, never recovered jthe injuries he sustained then, and has since lingered on till early .yesterday mornioa;, when he died The legal profession will lose a clever barrister,' and his personal acquaintances a valued friend. . J . ... A Mr Steward has given a lecture at Stafford Town to about 100 persons. The lecturer gave an interesting account of his travels :and the hardships he had to endure in the North-, era Territory and at the Palmer diggings.He pointed out, from bitter experience,! the: folly of miners leaving the West Coast of New Zealand, dull though the diggings are at present, in the hope of bettering themselves in South Australia or Queensland. He depicted the Northern Territory as a sepulchre of living ghosts, and was afraid he : had brought back with him a relic of the country, a severe touch of ague, which he would; find some difficulty in getting (rid of. The narrative of his adventure from the time he left the Coast until his return was well told, and was listened to attentively, as it afforded much instruction as well as some amusing incidents in connection with digging life. The lecturer appeared in the costume worn by him in the scorching climate he had so recently left, and throughout the lecture, met with repeated applause from the audience. On cross-examination in the Supremo Court, Otago, the other day, one of the witnesses emphatically declared that: the word " gorse," was Irish, and the Scotch called it "whin." The remark caused a deal of. laughter. In response to the Judge's query, Mr Barton stated that he had always heard the shrub referred to called "furze "in Ireland. The Reefton "Courier" says that since the arrival of the Rev. Father Cummina in Reefton a new spirit of energy has taken possession of the Roman Catholic residents, and numerous works are in contemplation to raise the parish to a proper footing. A residence has already been purchased for the reverend gentleman, and it is besides intended to start the erection at an early date of a new church building fully adequate to the strength of the congregation. A children's s-hool has also been established, which is to be placed under the charge of an efficient teacher from the Ahaura school. The town of Reefton, says the "Courier," is now fast assuming a clean and comfortable aspect. • Broadway, from end to end, has been freed of stumps and fallen timber, ;,and dressed with a good coating of metal and may' be said altogether to be -well worth the ci-, penditure. It is gratifying to note that many new buildings ' of respectable exterior have withia the last month or, two filled up the principal gaps on both sides of the street, and that other works are in progress to still further improve the appearance of the thoroughfare. The town is also step lily extending in the direction of the cemetery (no goat iutended), and residence sites along the Buller road are now commanding good prices. All this discloses a strong faith in the future of the community, The Wellington correspondent of the " Otago. Daily Times " telegraphs : — f-lt ds generally Understood that Government is prepared to introduce a Bill providing for, payment of members on the Victorian style of L3OO a-year, but desires some private, members first to bring the matter forward.

Mr Vogel's speech or Mr Murray's motion re member's telegrams, consented on 1 invitation to dothis, and several members are how prepared to raise the question. Mr W. Kortegast, brewer, of Hokitika, has turned out four pairs of Californian quail on the farm of Mr Graham, of the Kanieri district The "Times" hopes that no, Cockney sportsmen in the.pr^sent shooting campaign will mistake these birds for kd kas or pigeons, and that they will have a chance of existence. The climate is likely to suit them admirably, and in a few years their numbers will no, doubt be such as to justify the destructipn of a portion of^hem. ) The Californian quail has been acclimatised; for some years, and no/v flourishes in great ' numbers in the upper parts of the Grey Valley. \ A comet, ' appearing a little to the south ; east, was seen by several persons in Hokitika; yesterday morning about 6 o'clock. It has; also been seen in many other. -places,, as we| learn by telegram. . ...■.'; The "Times" understands,, it is, the : in-: tention oE Mr Woolcock. P.rpvincial Secretary, to address his constitutents at Grey-, mouth on his next visit there, which will take place in a few days. •, : , , ; , : Those whose business or pleasurOjinay cause, their travelling on the , road (between Greymouth. and Hokitika, will be glai to learn that the proprietors' of the,' punt on'the TeremaUaii' are busily engaged • putting'it into thorough repair, and If nlly expect.. to have it ready for active service .in. about a month. It is not the intention of the 'proprietors, according to the lt jrimes,".tp.place ■the wire! ohithe .samCside aff. ;that£fpgmeriy t occupied, but, instead,- some distance higher up the::Teremakaui;?^whpre ; 2 greater facilities for its safe working ;.ar.e>' supposed tp:exist; The punt: and gear, it. is! expectedj ,wilLbe finished and in -full operation; in about a month from the present time. It will.be no : .ne'w thing; fot old residents ohthe Coast to learn that very fair prospects of gold can be obtained up the left hand side of the Teremakau, but as far as we ("West Toast Times") can ascertain no: regular systenl of'prpspecting Has ever^ been initiated in this direction. The principal dause of this ; is that no provisions' can b'e> obtained owing to the absence «f : a : track' for their cpnveyahce.i arid the little that men can carry on their backs through so rough a country, has hitherto proved totally inadequate to allow of miners spending the ; time necessary- te thoroughly prospect the : c'ountry. ?; ''S6me good prospects of gold; have been recently obtained in this. locality ; which : with; provisions io hand at a moderate price would allow of the miner:;, earning fair wages., . ; 'We,, i trust that the Government, ere.the next sitting of the ■Provincial Council, will direct .their attention to the ; necessity of a track to facilitate, the opening up and prospecting of this part of the district. : ' :i ;' i r • \ A small deposit of fossil bones, arid: a tooth of some species of quadruped, were found in a quarry wrought by Messrs Firth and > damson,' Cave Valley, >near Oamaru. These fossils were discovered at & depth of 24ft, imbedded in the stoned ! .The'ltbn;e f which is familiar to many, , is pure whitei' and of excellent texture, and can be rendered impervious to the effects of the severest climate by the application of a whitewash consisting of an equal quantity of lime and cement. Another quarry alongside' is being wrought by Messrs Peyman apd Walker, where bmall specimens of fossils referred to : were occasionally encountered. The specimens will be sent by Messrs Edwin and William-. Firth to Captain Hutton, Museum, who no doubt will be able to discover the aritediluvian animal pf which they formed a part. j We observe from the Melbourne papers that a deputation from the Chamber of Commerce of that city; lately waited on the Hon. .the Attorney -.General of Victpria for the purpose <;f impressing upph the Government the desirability yof pushing forward the Criminal Law and; Practice : statute. Amendment. Bill at present before the Legislature, or, of , introducing a Bill similar to the 27th Vie. No. 22, passed in New .Zealand, for the apprehension of offenders who have escaped from other Australian Qolonies to Newji land. It was pointed but by the deputation that at present ; great difficulty existed |_ in bringing to. justice an offender who succeeded in reaching Melbourne from other Colonies,' and vice versa. The warrant for his arrest bad to be signed by the Chief Justice, or pae ; 6f the judges of .the Supreme :G6urt, and; there was no power •■beyond, sending Ithe criminal . back to the Colony where jthe offence bad been committed: This state of things was held to be objectionable, and calculated to defeat the ends of justice ; and by way of remedying it: the New Zealand, statute had been found to answer admiraply-. Mr. Eerferd' ■ thought a such •an Act as that alluded to was ultra yires^ but at the : satne r time he promised that the Government would press forward the ■ Bill at present before ! the Legislative Council. •