Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1963, 20 November 1874, Page 2

At the Resident Magistrate's Court, yesday, Joseph Castle, charged with deserting his wife and family, was ordered to pay L 3 into Court on or before Monday next, and afterwards LI per week . We ("Herald") learn that two distinct parties are about starting on a prospeetiag expedition to the country between Lyell and the river Mohikinui. Important results are confidently expected to ensue. An infant named Catherine Brown, aged two years, was accidentally drowned on fc aturday last, having fallen into Anderson's Company's water-race, at Black's Point, Inangahua. At the inquest Leld, the jury recommended that the race where it intersects the township be either fenced in or covered so as to prevent the recurrence of similar accidents. A narrow escape from drowning occurred to Mr Henry Maguire on the 13th at Westport. He was riding a horse in tow of one of the stone barges proceeding up the river, and at Roche's Point, in consequence of the set oi the current, the horse waa unable to make progress. In order to get the barge into a more advantageous position he rode the horse into deeper water, when the animal suddenly lost its footing and turned over. Mr Maguire sustained a severe kick under the right eye from one of the horse's fore hoofs, and was kept under water for some seconds. On getting to the surface, the horse followed him, but he contrived to extricate himsslf by pushing himself away, and then swam to the Point. From this point he was assisted to the shore by Mr P. Ferguson, contractor. Captain Leech was present, and rendered all the assistance in his power. The "New Zealand Times" says:— "lt is currently reported that an old and respected settler in Hawke's Bay, ( 'harle3 Nairn, Esq., of Pourerere, purposes endowing the Church of England institutions of that Province with, a gift of LIO.OOO. One of the most richly deserved sentences which has ever been passed in the Police Court, was inflicted by the Resident Magistrate at Auckland lately. The offence for which the delinquent was charged was an assault on a helpless baby five months old. The evidence disclosed a chapter of revolting profligacy rarely surpassed. The prisoner, a German named Von Gravenitz, was proved to have been cohabiting with a woman who has very recently been admitted into the Hospital suffering under some dangerous complaint. Her infant was left in the care of her paramour, and her father who lived in the same house with him. the father of the infant be ng at the Bay of Islands. From the testimony of some of the neighbors who have interfered on the child's behalf from motives of humanity, and from the dreadfully emaciated condition of the little victim, who was produced in Court, there was no doubt that it had been actually starved nearly to death, and one witness swore to having seen the heartless brute strike it. Mr Beckham sentenced the prisoner to pay a fine of LlO, of which one-half would go towards th« support of the child, or in default to be impriconed with hard labor for two months. Great sympathy and indignation have been aroused in New South Wales by the narrative of a Madame Rastoul, a recent detenue at New Caledonia. It appears from this lady's statements, that a letter written by her husband, and addressed to MM. Rochefort and , Paschal Grousset, Switzerland or Belgium, which was sent to Sydney, with 37 others, to be posted there, instead of being sent on to Europe by the mail, was by some means conveyed to the authorities at Noumea. Dr Rastoul is a political exile.' He acted as a physician and surgeon in the Communists' camp during the civil war in Paris. For some time past he had been, allowed to live at freedom in Noumea, and to practice his profession there, thus supporting his wife and children in comfort. But when it was found that he had written the letter in question to the escaped oaptives, he was

clcipi'ive f l of his liberty, and sent to the Isle of Piues to endure the frightful privations fur which that desolate spot is notorious. As if to make his loc more bitter. Madame Pvastoul was ordered to leave New Caledonia, and is thus deprived of all opportunity of receiving support for herself and her children from her husband. No evidence is yet before the public as to the manner in which the letter of Dr Rastoul was handed ovei to the authorities at Noumea. It is said that the impression prevails in New Caledonia that the letter was delivered by the Post Office authorities in Sydney to the French Consul. The matter has been taken up by the New South Wales Legislature. We take the following from the Nelson "Colonist":— "During the past few weeks upwards of five hundred immigrants have come to take up their abode in this Province, and it affords as much gratiflcation to be able to state that many of them have obtained remunerative employment. Of course a larger number are still awaiting engage- ] inent ; but we may reasonably hope that in a short time they will be comfortably provided for. A number of them aro now working on the railway, and others have found situations in various parts of the Provinco. A couple of hundred of the new corners will, we suppose, ba drafted off to form the new settlement at the Karamea. For a long time the Provinces were clamoring for immigrants, and to a certain extent they were justified in so doing. There was plenty of land for settlement, and the only thing wanted was people to settle on it. We shall not say anything respecting other parts of the Colony, but will confine our remarks to that portion of it in which we live — the Province of Nelson. We asked for immigrants, and we got them ; but a serious question arises at this juncture, and it is necessary that we should consider whether we are not going a little teo far. That is to say, are we not importing more people than we can at the present time find employment for?"