THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 1874.

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1884, 20 August 1874, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 1874.

As a matter of contemporary opinion it is as well occasionally to quote what is being said and done elsewhere on the great Provincial question now before the House._ Several of our contemporaries have indulged in speculations as to whether the South Island .should, not be included in the proposed change, and it is certain, from the tenor of the speeches, that many of the Southern members will vote against the Premier's resolutions solely through fear that the next step taken by Mr Yogel, if' successful with / the North Island, will be to abolish Provincialism in the Middle Island.. This is quite clear from the remarks of Mr Macandrew, the Superintendent of Otago, who has all ale ng been a thorough Provincialist, and who has very much influence in the Province and a very large following in the House] It is not necessary at j resent to discuss whether, the South or Middle ', Island should riot also Le included in the legislation which the Ministry have intimated their intention to propose next session. Probably public opinion might not be found altogether ripe for so large a change at once.- On this question the "New Zealand Times" says :— " Canterbury and Otago have been able to manage their affairs with a skill and a prudence that hiave been commendable, although even in their case the interference of the General Government in the interests of the country at large have.been necessary at times. Neither Nelson nor : ~ Marlborough ha vie : any good claim to put forward why they should be left with, their Superintendents and Councils, and. their little petty Parliaments, to manage or mismanage their own affairs ; while Westland is :perhaps too proud of its newly-fledged honor to contemplate so early a return to its original position of a county only. Yet the effort to introduce local -Provincial Government there has, so , far, been so much of f a farce that possibly the. public and the officers of the Province themselves, would be found not unwilling to resign their functions to the General -Government. Nelson, Marlborough, and Westland, are all incapable by themselves of carrying out any: great public work. Nelson wants a better harbor, railways to op4n up the forest and mineral lands, and roads and supplies of water to enable the miners to develope its auriferous resources; and for all these things the General Government must be appealed to. Westland has enormous tracts of auriferous soil, which can only be made profitable by the provision of water in snfficient quantity to enable sluicing to be carried on on a large scale ; and these works the General Government have now in hand. To maintain Provincial institutions in these portions of the island is not merely a waste of money in salaries and expenses of many kinds, but a positive hindrance -to the progress of the districts they afflict. But the experiment may well be tried in the North Island. There are no natural boundaries separating the one Province from the other. All their interests are in common. The dangers and difficulties they have passed through were Colonial, and not Provincial. These are now all but over, and a season of prosperity has set in which also is general and not Provincial. The public works now going on must obliterate those artificial lines which separate • Taranaki from Wellington and Hawke's Bay from Auckland, Wellington, and Taranaki, The North Island is ready, we believe, for the abolition cf Provincial distinctions, and will rejoice, when it possesses but one Government only ; while the extinction of Provincial Governments and Councils will be an important step towards the realisation of that united and powerful New Zealand which its people yet hope to see taking the leading position among the Australasian dependencies of the Throne." An expression of public opinion has been made in Hokitika on the question. The intention of the public meeting, held on Tuesday, was no doubt good, being evidently to strengthen the hands of the Premier, but we very much doubt whether, at the present time, such meetings can possibly be productive of any good whatever. It is reported that those present pledged themselves and their votes in advance of the result of the Assembly's decisßion, which, in the event

of an appeal to the country, would appear remarkably foolish,: as events may happen shortly which might upiset all their calculations and pledges. With regard tp the meeting itself we fin<jl by the "iWest Coast Times" that '"Mr Woolcbck; Provincial Secretary, in proposing the first resolution said that he had always been an advocate for the abolition of Provincialism, and although he was now an Executive officer of the Province he yet dared ie public and in private to avow his antagonism to that kind of institution, ( and though he had been elected a member of the Provincial Council, he had, at the same time, always expressed his antagonism to the existing form of Government, and even now, as Provincial Secrejtary, he would avow that his sentiments 'were unaltered, and would still endeavor (to aid in the abolishment of such a per ;nicious system. He would move the I first resolution — ' That this meeting fully j approves of the action taken by the I Premier in respect to the abolifion of 'Provincialism in the North Island, and trusts that the Government will extend the. same policy to the Middle Island.' The resolution was seconded by Mr Jack ', and carried v\nanimously. Mr John Grass moved the second resolution — ' That in the event of the Government being defeated on the resolutions before the House 1 of Representatives, and appealing to the : country, this meeting hereby pledges : itself to support the candidature .of those only who are favorable to the abolition of Provincialism and its attendant evils, throughout the Colony.' The motion was seconded by Mr Herman Meyer, and carried unanimously. The third resolution was moved by Mr Barff — ' That a copy of the foregoing resolutions be forwarded to the Hon. the Premier and the Representatives of the district in the Assembly.' " It is scarcely necessary to add that all the resolutions were carried unanimously.

The s.s. Hero is expected to leave Auckland for Sydney at noon to-day. Carpenters are wanted for the Nelson Creek Water-race by Messrs Roche and Co. The wages are 15s per day. At the Resident Magistrate's Court, on Wednesday a miner from No Town, named John White, was charged with being d runk, and discharged with the usual caution. The Greymouth Volunteer Rifle Rangers will, by order of the captain commanding, ■; parade this evening, at the usual time and i place, for the inspection of arms and accoutrements. An extraordinary general meeting of the. Enterprise Quartz-mining Company is called; for to-day at the office of the legal managers, G. W. Moss and Co., Mackay street. The principal business is to dscide as to the future operations of the company. 'A cargo boat loaded with railway sleepers sank in the river on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, the owner, Mr G. Martin, and crew, were busily engaged trying to raise her. The cause of the accident is supposed to be the heavy downpour of rain which continued during the night. A tea meeting in aid of the Sabbath School in connection with the Presbyterian Church was held in the Church last evening. The building was crowded almost to excess, and the event altogether was entirely successful. A fter tea, of which about two hundred persons partook, addresses were delivered by several clergyman and by the Superinjtendent of the School, Mr Anderson, Who explained the working of the new plan of teaching known in Victoria as the Model System of Sunday School Instruction; Miss Aitken gave several readings in her usual finished style, and was afterwards publicly thanked on behalf of . the meeting. The Rev. Mr M'Nichol Was characteristically eloquent on the subject of Good Templarism;, and gave an interesting historical account of the war now raging in America against strong drink. The Rev. Mr M'lntosh made a fluent and indeed a brilliant appeal on behalf qf the Sabbath School system, and alluded to the present religious revival in Scotland, and other parts p of the olp. country.. He especially referred to the modern American Evangelists, Messrs Moody and Sankey, who are creating sucjh an enthusiastic reaction at home, and at tbe conclusion of his address the choir, byhjs desire, rendered one of the musical compositions for which the revival services have become famous. Mr Sinclair, in a singularly happy and appropriate speech, moved ja. vote of thanks to the ladies who had provided the tea and superintended the arrangements. Mr Buchanan moved (a vote of thanks to the speakers, and Mr Robert Young moved a resolution thanking the choir, making special reference to Miss Hart who, although not connected with the school, has devoted several weeks to training the choir and enabling the members of it to make such a creditable display on the occasion. The proceedings terminated with the singing of a hymn by the choir, and the pronunciation of the benediction by the pastor of the Church. ; The weather which has been more or less broken since Sunday afternoon, became very windy with occasional heavy showers of rain until about midnight on Tuesday when it reached a climax. Tho rain poured in torrents from that time till daylight on Wednesday morning when a lull took place for a few hours. Traffic was stopped in the country districts on Tuesday forenoon. The iip river mail coach was delayed for some hours at the crossing of No Town Creok at Ijhe new Twelve-mile township, and telegrams from Reefton announced that the down cosich could not travel either, consequently mail communication was stopped for the day. ' It began to rain heavily again on Tuesday! at sundown, and continued almost incessently through the night. In consequence of the heavy weather outside, the vessels in harbor ready for sea did not proceed on their voyages, and from the appearance of the river, which was rising rapidly during the evening, with driftwood showing up before dark, it is feared traffic up-country will be stopped to-day also. A meeting of the Waste Lands Board was held at Hokitika on Tuesday, when the Rev. Father Chareyre applied to change the names of certain Trustees of Church property at the j Waimea. The matter was referred to the Chief Commissioner, with power to act. G. F. Hawkins applied to purchase 100 acres of I land in 'Block 55, Arahura. Mr E. Barff presented a petition, signed by eighty miners, praying that the land might be withdrawn for sale, and urged many reasons against its sale. Mr Hawkins thought the petition was too late. Mr Barff Baid action could not have been taken sooner. Mr E. Robinson, M.P.C., also opposed the sale of the land, as an interference with the rights of the miners. He was chairman of a meeting at the Hau-Hau the previout night, at which it was resolved to oppose the sale of the land. Mr Duggan, a miner, working near the ground, also strongly opposed the sale. Mr Hawkins said the objection did not come from miners at all, but from persons who wished to use the valuable timber on the land without paying for it. Be wanted the land for the timber. After some discussion, the land was, on the motion of the Chief Commissioner, withdrawn from sale. Theßangej,

! reported the sale of 54 timber licenses (L 27), since the 24th July. A French man-of-war steamer arrived at Noumea, New Caledonia, on 11th of July from France, having on board 809 Communists. The dwelling-house on Messrs Thompson's farm, Totara, was burned down on Sunday last. No one was in the house at the time. „ .. Surveyors at Wellington and elsewhere are casting anxious glances towards the appointment of Surveyor-General of the Coleny —an office possibly, probably, in the near future. We (" Tribune ") understand, in the case of such an event, that .Mr. J. T. Thomson, many years Chief Surveyor of Otago, will be the fortunate man. A block of land within what may be called known gold workings at the Arahura has been put up for sale, against which the West Coast Times protests, and says :— " A body entrusted with the disposal of waste lands in gold-bearing districts cannot be ton cautious in their aleniation or lease, and wherever there is a suspicion of land proving profitable for gold-mining purposes, too great jealously in losing control cannot be exercised. There are numbers of shrewd landsharks hoveiiag about the confines of goldfields, aa& especially about the localUwj where large public works in the shape of water-races are being constructed. Already some very material inconvenience has been occasioned by hasty or ill-judged aleniation, and when the two races are constructed the complications arising through these' causes will be far greater than are at present dreamt of. It is admitted that the mining industry is, and must be for many years to come, the staple support of Wesiland, and public bodies of all kinds cannot be too careful in avoiding any action whatever that can hamper or obstruct its fullest development/ The Okarito correspondent of the "Register" writes regarding mining matters : — "They are still very quiet, and t am afraid it will take some time ere they will resume their wonted briskness. At Gillespie's Beach Whelan and Co, the proprietors of the large water race, have not yet completed repairs ; they have been an extra long time over this work, but, when completed, they may expect their fluming to last some years. So much as they have finished up to the present time thp.y have made a very good job of. The Ten-acve Company, on the Five-mile Beach, are still idle. It is a great drawback to the trade of that beich, as many look upon, this claim as being the best paying one in the district. It is a great pity some amicable arrangement cannot be arrived at between these parties, and it would be better for all concerned. There has been a little "surfacing" thrown up on the Three-mile Beach during the last heavy surf. Messrs Wallace and party, who have the only water available on this beach, are busy washing it." The " Register " says :— " That untimely born journal, the • duller News,' finishes a paragraph the other day on what its feeble; conductor is pleased to term ' Westland's Rapacity,' with the following words :— ' No; doubt the astute Premier has discovered by this time the palpable jobbery in connection; with the Waimea Water-race.' The wretched: slanderer circulates his petty calumny against a whole community without attempting to show of what kind, and for whose benefit, the alleged jobbery has been. If it could be supposed that the ' News ' repre-; sented anyone except O'Conor and beings of his order, the falsehood mi&ht be worthy of refutation." | A storm seems imminent in the usually serene atmosphere of the Literary Society's rooms, Hokitika. In the suggestion book appears a proposition, made by a Mr W. Smith, that the Reading-room should be opened on Sundays. Dr Maunsell makes a similar suggestion, and Mr South writes his approval of it. Next MrCrerar expresses his entire disapproval of the suggestion ; Messrs Jack and J. Scott concurring with Mr Crerar. Messrs Kenny and Dalrymple agree with Dr Maunsell; and finally aMr Crawford asks— " Why all this paper war?!' and suggests that a meeting of the subscribers should bo • called to consider: this matter. We may mention that the museum in Christchurch, the Dunedin Athenasumi and the reading-rooms in Greymouth and Taranaki are opened on Sundays. ■ The Cyphrenes, which has arrived in Auckland, does not bring the San Francisco mail, having only been as far as Kandavau since she left New Zealand. The "Register;" says :— With respect to the recent telegraih. as to the probable collapse of the service, We imagine that residents in Westland, who fe£l no advantage from the increased communication with the States, and considerable disadvantage from the increased time whkjh their home correspondence takes in transmission, will not greatly regret the loss, if the service should break down altogether. Having proceeded thus far, however, it as unlikely that the Government will abandon the scheme, notwithstanding the three failures which will have occurred, especially as New Zealand has now the hearty assistance of hew South Wales in rendering the service a success, " iEgles" writes in the " Australasian":^- --" That," said a friend, of a passer-by, "is the blue-blanket magistrate." I had never heard of that kind of magistrate before, and songht an explanation. It appears that when the gentleman holding this titular distinction first sat upon the bench, a man' was brought before him charged with stealing a pair of blue blankets. The evidence was clear against the accused, and he uneasily awaited the decision of the bench. The magistrate leant over and obtained from the clerk of the court a copy of "Plunket," and devoted some time to a careful examination of the volume. "Prisoner at the bar," he said at length, " you are a very lucky fellow ; I can find no mention of the penalty for stealing blue blankets in the law books. You are discharged without a stain upon your character." There appears to have been quite a Bcene amongst tbe honorable members for goldfields constituencies when Mr Shepherd's Bill on gold-mining was under discussion on the 24th ult. The Bill, as has already been intimated, was withdrawn by permission, but it is to be resuscitated next session, after it baa been circulated amongst mining communities. Mr Shepherd evidently felt very keenly on the subject. Referring to Mr White, he said : — " The honorable member for Hokitika wanted the Bill circulated amongst his constituents, because he was afraid that something very dangerous might happen if it were passed without their seeiug it. No doubt that honorable gentleman did not feel himself competent to look through the Bill and see where it might be improved; and so he wished to have it referred to the general body of miners on the West Coast, for them to point out where alterations might be made." In reply to this, Mr White, in his own particular style, said "He observed that the House was getting accustomed to the honorable gentleman, and it was not his intention to reply to the personal attack made upon himself, except to say that it was coarse and vulgar — unworthy of any gentleman sitting in that House, and altogether unwarranted by the facts of the case." For which he was called to order. The "Otago Daily Times," of August 6, states :— " Mr Wiltshire has almost recovered the sudden attack of illness which he experienced on Tuesday night, and completed his 656 th mile at 11.45 p.m. yesterday, when his wife had accomplished her 654 th half-mile. Dr JBakewell is prescribing ' for both pedestrians."