THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1874.

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1962, 19 November 1874, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1874.

It has been known for some time that Mr Donald Maclean, who for the past nine years has taken a prominent interest in all the affairs affecting the public interests of Greymouth, was about to retire from business in this town and establish himself in connection with a Dunedia firm at Timaru. Last evening the largest representative company ever assembled at Greymouth on a similar occa. sion sat down to a collation in the Volunteer Hall, for the purpose of giving effect in right good earnest to the Shaksperiau maxim— " Speed the parting guest." Between ninety and a hundred persons assembled, and the chair was occupied by his Worship the Mayor, who was supported by the Hon. H. H. Lahman, M.L.0., W. H. Harrison, Esq., M.H.R., Charles Woolcock, Esq., Provincial Secretary. W. H. Revell and Harry Kenrick, Esqs., acted as vice-chairmen. As it is our intention to publish a full report of the proceedings ia our next issue, we will say no more on this occasion than that the compliment paid to Mr Macleans as of the most hearty and enthusiastic character, and one which he has thoroughly deserved. Few, if any, of the old settlers of Greymouth will be missed so much as he, and it will be a satisfaction to him that he carries with him to his new sphere of useful action the warmest good wishes of those with whom he has been associated for a period of nine years. We never re> member any meeting of this kind— and there have been many since Greymouth existed as a town— which was so thoroughly unanimous in giving honor to its guest. And sure we are that the impression left behind when Mr Maclean has gone will be that Greymouth I has loßt one of its landmarks. That he may be as successful in his new scene of action as lie hopes to be is the wish of everyone who \ knows him. The tender of Mr Wilckens for the conveyance of the Reefton and Greymouth biweekly mail service was finally accepted and the contract signed yesterday. The price is L 430 per annum, and the contract is for two j years. We understand also that there is a probability of the Government agreeing to a thrice a week service before the contract . commences on the lab January, 1875. , At a meeting of the electors held at the ' Court House, No Town, on Tuesday, Mr J. W. Jones in the chair, Mr John Corbett was ' elected a member of the Ahaura Local Eevenues Board, in the place of Mr Robb, resigned j and Mr B. M'Guire was elected in the place of Mr F. Stanhope.

We learn by a telegram received last evening that the Just-in-Time crashing resulted in 1590z melted gold, out of 106 tons of quartz. At the sale on Tuesday at Arahura, meat fell considerably, the late high prices havins; caused the market to be rushed somewhat ' Prime beef fetched only from 35s to 40a per 1001 b, and store cattle were sold at anything but a profit to their owners. A large mob were purchased for the South and were brought to Hokitika en route for their new pastures. The meetin » of the Waste Lands Board lapsed on Tuesday through want of a quorum J and stands adjourned untiL Friday. The railway from Napier to Port Ahuriri I vill be finished and opened to the public in about three weeks' time. It is stated that when Sir George Grey sent home his proposals about the Constitution for this Colony, the then Foreign Secretary, Earl Grey, replied in a despatch chat the feature of the elective administrative Superintendent was a fundamental innovation utterly unknown to the English Constitution, and that had not the Ministry been changed in the meantime, this feature never would have been iuserted in the Constitution Act. The following announcement has just issued from Downing street :— " Lord Carnarvon has offered the Governorship of the Mauritius to Sir R. Phayre, whose distinguished services in British Burmah are familiar to all who are acquainted with the history of our recent progress in the East. It is also announced that Governor George Berkeley, of the West African Settlements, who arrived in Liverpool on Monday by the mail steamer Loanda, Las been appointed Governor of Westera Australia, to succeed Mr F. A. Weld " At the public banquet, at Napier, given to Sir Donald M'Lean, the Native Minister said he did not believe in continuing in welfare with a fine chivalrous race whenever proper means of conciliation were available. He believed more in education than fighting. Of course., he had in his position suffered some obloquy on account of his views and policy, but he could afford to ignore all that when his conscience satisfied him that he was following the more humane and proper course. He quoted different returns of past Native expenditure, showing how it had ranged as high as L 60,00'» a year, and told his audience that at present Native schools absorbed a third of the Native expenditure. Endeavoring to account for the failure of the Victorian loan, the "Argus" says: — " English investors know very little of Colonial politics and care less. The question is simply one of general credit. If they knew the facts, of course, the credit of Victoria for such a ridiculously small sum as a million, must be above suspicion, but the fact is that the credit of the Australian Colonies generally has been damaged by the reckless manner in which New Zealand has been raising money. . We fear, however, that the general credit will suffer still more, and perhaps be almosc altogether extinguished by Mr Vogel's action while in England. When Victoria is unable to raise a million to add to its already excellent railway system, New Zealand is scarcely likely to be able to laise six millions to complete its as yet untried lines. Mr Yogel will thus probably be driven into exercising the power so foolishly given him by Parliament of raising the four-million loan by shortdated debentures at a high rate of interest. If he does this he will gwe the credit of New Zealand the coup de grace, and will severely shake that of all its Australian neighbors." Commenting upon Sir George Grey's petition, the "New Zealand Times" points out that amongst the last of his official acts as Governor wasjthe transmission to the Secretary of State of a memorandum by Mr Stafford, in relation to the County of Westland Act, in -which the Imperial Parliament was invoked to grant to New Zealand legislature that very power to make alterations in the constitution of the colony. A death, which has excited some feeling among our German residents, recently occurred at the Wellington Hospital. An immigrant by the Reichstag was taken ill, and on the recommendation of Messrs Krull and Schwartz admitted to the hospital. The poor man, a Lutheran, finding himself dying was anxious to have the rites of his church administered to him. In some way or another, which has not been clearly explained — some mistake, it is supposed, on the part of Mr Monteith, a Catholic priest was introduced to the man, who was- thus admitted into the Catholic Church, in. which, he shortly after died. The Germans think that an influence had been used with their countryman which was improper in the circumstances. We ("Tribune") narrate the facts as they have been given to us ; probably there is some further explanation can be made. The " Coromandel Mail," of October 22, records the decease of Mr John O'Neill, father of Mr Charles O'Neill, M.H.R., which took place on Tuesday evening, at his residence, Kapanga. The deceased gentleman was a very old settler, and was as much respected as he was widely known. He was said to have been the oldest living representative of the original O'Neill family. The Auckland correspondent of the "Daily Times" telegraphs :—" The 'New, Zealand Herald' hears on the best authority that Fiji will be governed as a dependency of New South Wales, with a Lieutenant? Governor, like New Zealand was in the early days. It presumes that this will make the laws of New South Wales at once abplicable, and perhaps the tariff <?f that colony, but that the whole arrangement can only be temporary. New Zealand would, in its opinion, have been more suitable, being so much nearer than New South Wales." | In two years 261 out of the 400 of the | 60th Regiment quartered at Limerick have got married. Let some poet tell us at once what Limerick ladies are like Not another town in Great Britain has done the same. A supplement to a Mew Zealand "Gazette" dated October 30, contains several schedules \of rules for Resident Magistrates' Courts under the Imprisonment for Debt Abolition Act, 1874. There is nothing in v the rules themselves which need special notice. They comprise regulations as to procedure, forms of summons, orders, &c, a table of fees, and so forth. But what does deserve notice is the disgracefully late date at which the rules make their appearance, one result of which is, that whilst the Ace came into operation on the Ist of October, it could not be ac'ed upon until now. Remarking on this delay, the Canterbury " Press " says : — "Who is responsible for this neglect ? The matter lies in the department of the Minister of Justice, but that seat in the Cabinet happens at present to be unoccupied. No successor has been appointed to ivTr O'Rorke. JWe suppose whatever functions attach to the office are discharged by Dr Pollen, who I has succeeded to the place formerly held by !Mr Gisborne, of man-of-all-work to the ' Ministry. Besides being Colonial Secretary he has undertaken temporarily, in the absence of Mr Yogel, the duties of Colonial Treasurer, Postmaster-General, and Commissioner of Telegraphs ; and, not content with these multifarious occupations, adds to them those of Minister of Justice. That is quite sufficient explanation. When a man undertakes to do four men's work, however able and industrious he may be, he is certain to do a great deal badly, and to leave a great deal undone. Nor does there seem to be any one to relieve

Dr Pollen. Ministers, as usual, are to be found anywhere, but at the seat of Governnieut. Mr Yogel has gon3 to England. The engagements of Sir D. M'Lean and Mr Richardson only allow Ihem to pay occasional flying visits to Wellington. Mr Kepnokla is in Auckland. Dr Pollen remains solitary at head-quarters, doing his best no doubt to keep the departments up to the collar and to nave the State coach from coming to a stand, but, as we have seen, failing in the attempt. So it will always be as long as the present system is followed. So long as the Premier makes a practice of deserting his po3t, except when Parliament is in session ; so long as the heads of departments are habitually absent from Wellington, and the administration is left to take care of itself ; so long the public service will be conducted in the slip-sbod manner it is now, and blunders as discreditable as the one we have pointed out will be of constant occurrence." The "Mount Alexander Mail" contains the following :—" To feed a horse onfionr is something unusual, but the experiment had been tried with success. An owner of horses, finding them eating their heads off, had to study ' the ways and means ' of providing for them on the cheapest scale, and after carefully summing up the various articles in the dietary for horses, he found that forty pounds of oits cost more than sixty pounds of wheat. The latter he used a while, and then flour, whioh has proved the cheaper of the two. He mixes a certain quantity of flour with the chaff, and his horses get nothing else, but they are fat with sleek coats, and evidently are partial to their fare." • • The " Westport Times " states that a man named (rarvey is missing from fche Mokihinai district, and fears are entertained that he may have lost his life. Kecently he was working on the railway line, but being discharged he drew his wages and got on the spree, spending every shilling. He then wandered as far as the Mokihinui, and was there for some two or three days, still suffering from the effects of liquor, and barely accountable for his own actions. He was last seen on tbe north bank of the river, but all traces of him have been lost. He was without swag or money. It is stated in tbe " Otago Times" that by Mr Justice Chapman's judgment on Messrs Bell and Wentworth's Southland claims, the applicants get the land for L 20,000 below its value. His Honor considered the applicants entitled to the land at LI an acre. It is rumored, says a Hawke's Bay paper, that District Judge Weston is to be removed to the West Coast, to fill a similar appointment to that which he now holds here. It is not yet known who his successor will be, or whether anyone at all will be called upon to fill the vacancy.