Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1965, 23 November 1874, Page 2

The two little children that were reported in our Saturday's issue as beinjj missing turned up on Saturday morning afc Rufcherglen, whence they were brought to town in Mr IrviDg's spring cart. The joy of their parents may be imagined, as just before they arrived arrangements had been made for a Bearch party on a large scale. How the little things wandared so far— about seven miles — is a mystery. Since the appointment of Mr Christian as Crown Land Ranger, 42 timber-cutting licenses have been applied for, owing to the number of summonses taken out for breaches of the Waste Lands Act in this respect. A washing up at Gordon and party's claim, Cemetery Town, Totara, the other day, yielded upwards of 60oz. The " Australian " states that the widow of the late Mr Thockmorton has commenced business in Melbourne for the support of herself and family. The following items are supplied by the "Tnangahua Herald":— "A little girl, the infant daughter of Mr Brown, mining manager of the Vulcan, was drowned in Anderson's race on Tuesday last. — The private purse of the residents of Black's Point is the means of a pack track being constructed from the Point of Rocks to the Wealth of Nations. — Last week another valuable horse, the property of Mr Logan, came to grief on the Energetic tramway, and was buried in a gully at hand. Masons will be interested to learn that a London publisher, Mr George Kenning, advertises the cartes de visite of Masonic celebrities throughout Great Britain and the Colonies. Among these, the only name as representing New Zealand is that of Mr John LazT, District Grand Master, who has been justly termed the parent of Masonry in this Colony. The brethren of the mystic family are thus afforded the opportunity of purchasing the photo of their parental guaTdian, as the notification announces "post free for one shilling and a penny." The "Colonist" bemoans the doubtful prospect of a race meeting this season at Nelson, owing to the faot that that immediately after the la3t meeting the treasurer disappeared, without paying the stakes or the money deposited with him for lotteries. It is PBtimared by the local Education Committee at Hokitika. that in the event of one centra schonl being established in Hokitika. from sf'O5 f 'O to 600 children would have to be provided for To snp.ily &1- q<xate tuiti»u to that number, it whs mentioned that the sum <>f 1,100 wnu'd be required for salaries alone, as a h^aii eachfir at a saU«y of L3<X). and twi% assistant teachers aft L2oo and 1,150 each, with a female teacher at I 100 would be requisite, in a Mi»i >n to two pupil teachers an L 25 each. Some • iscu-=sion took place at the last meeting of the (Committee as to the temporary provision f-o be made in the way of school buildin s. It was the opinion of the majority of the Committee that one school should he established, though Mr Mulligan dissented from this view . holding that the present schools might be subsidised. It was ultimately decided that a sub-committee of Messrs Reid, Johnstone, and Paterson, make the necessary inquiries on the matter and report at a future meetiug. Might we suggest that the petentious and exceptional premises known as " Government Honse" might be utilised for the purpnse ? The necessity for amending the Cattle Trespass and Impounding Ordinance, passed last session by the Provincial Council, was exemplified during the hearing of a case at the Resident Magistrate's Court, Ross, on Monday last. The plaint, says ''Guardian/ tv as a claim for trespass on some land, and the plaintiff stated that one Bide of his section had a brush of bush fence erected on ifc. No such fence is named in the Ordinance, and Mr FitzGerald had to try the case as if there was no fence at aIL He expressed the opinion that, the omission was a serious one, as in a bush such fences are very common Of course, as the Ordinance stands at present, parties who have bush fences claiming for trespass are put out of Court, and it ' would be well if the Ordinance was amended so as to include a bush fence at the next session of the Provincial Council. They gave Mr Yogel a seat on the "floor of the House "in Melbourne. Sir Redmond Barry, a punster, said next day in the presence of His Excellency the Governor and Mr Justice Fellows, "So they floored old Yogel in the House last night." The production of gold from the Reef ton di-trict ia assuming Urge proportions. On Saturday Mr Lapham, the manager of the

Bank of New Zealand, arrived in Greymouth in charge of 32350z lldwt of gold, the result of six weeks' purchases. During the previous week 3034«z were forwarded by the National Bank, making a total within ten days of 62720z. Tne gold brought down by Mr Lapham was contributed as follows : — oz. dwt. Golden Fleece 901 9 Just-in-Time 610 0 Wealth of Nations 546 7 Caledonian 463 5 -Anderson's ... ... ... 391 5 Total of quartz gold 2912 6 I Alluvial gold ... ... ... 326 5 Total amount of escort 3238 11 Regarding the improved prospect? of the reefs, the " Inang*hua Berald " of Saturday remarks : — " We see no reason to apprehend. I that the average yield will undergo any consinerable decrease during the ensuing year, ' as bhelaaagahua, Company's pkafc will be in ! operation early in February, and that will ] serve as a set-off to aay decline that may j affect the companies which, recently have largely contributed to the returns. On Adam Smith's line, the Golden Ledge, Keep-it-Dark, Hercules, and Vulcan, none of which with the exception of the Golden Ledge has even had a trial crashing, will augment the returns; and on the long-Deglected Kelly's line, the Phoenix, Victoria, and Inglewood give promise of shortly assuming a prominent position. The last gold escort forwarded by the Bank of New Zealand was on 4th September. '' l At the adjourned meeting of the Waste j Lamia Bowl on Friday, the Chief Commissioner remarked that now as special settlements could be formed, land being open for selection, ho would suggest that some time should be given, and notice affirded to applicants A number of applications for land bud already been sent in to the Boanl, but those who had sent them in shmld be info rme 1 wh«n they w .uM be considered. Mr hearmonth rein irked that he had already sent in s^v r*l applications which he presumed wmtM be regarded by the Board as a j »urnel applications, and would take preceiHuce. whe-i th y were consvlerel. The Chief Commissioner said thay would certainly be considered in thit lighb, Mr Robinson moved that, notice be given, that lands for special settlement, were open for sale or lease. Also that applications for occupation should be received up to the sth of January next, aud that advertisements be inserted in the Westland papers to that effect, together ako with a short summary of the terms on which the land could be taken up. Mr Learmonth enquired on what footing the different applicants would be placed. Some of those held cultivated land at the present tims. Mr Robinson remarked that those hoUera had taken up laud wituout any legal right at all. The motion was then put aud carried. Mr Boyd Thompson, through Mr Learmonth, applied for a run to be put up for sale, situated near the New River, up to the Eight Mile. Mr Robinson opposed the application on the ground that the laud asked for was in close proximity to gold workings, and miners would be unable to have any grazing ground whatever if it was granted. It was refused. a. South German paper relates the following : — "ln a Bavarian town of the most pronounced Catholic orthodoxy, the priest preached lately against the old Catholics, and related such horrible things about them that his pious hearers were literally horrorstricken at Old Catholic impieties. At last the preacher cried out, • The Old Catholics are so vile that they will all be cast into the pit ; and if what I tell you is not true, may the devil take me now on the spot ?' His excitement was terrible ; and he so struck the cushion that the book fell from it. Not far from the pulpit there sat an American, who had a negro servant with him, to whom he beckoned to take the book up to the priest, who perhaps had never seen one of those sons of Ham in his life. The negro at once obeyed, and as he mounted the lowest of the pulpit steps the clergyman repeated his wish that the devil might come and take him if what he had said against the Old Ca- ■ tholics was not true. Although the negro went very softly the preacher heard his footsteps, and turning round saw a black object solemnly, steadily, and surely approaching him. He looked at him with terror, and believing that he would be the next instant collared by his satanic majesty, he cried out, with trembling voice, 'It is, after all possible that there may be good people among the old Catholics.' Turning then round to see if the. object had disappeared, he saw it still steadily approaching. The perspiration burst out on his brow, and full of despair he called out, ' There are even many good people among the Old Catholics !' Thinking that this would suffice, he turned round, but what was his horror to find that the object was close at hand. Imagining himself in the grasp of Belzebub, turning partly to the negro and partly to the congregation, he cried oat, • May the devil come and take me if all the Old Catholics are not better than we are !' The terrified priest fainted from the fright, and it was only after some time that he recovered."' A correspondent of the " Dun stan Times" writes as follows : — " A scheme is mooted to try the Bandigo reefs at the lowest possible level ; the idea is to rai«e capital. LIO.OOO in 40.000 ahares of five shillings each, and to drive a tunnel across the known lines of reefs, the mouth of the tunnel to be in the BenMgo Oreak; it is th'>u»ht the reefs would be cut at from 500 to 1000 ft deep, and the px»reme length of tunnel to be about one mil«. The scheme is one in my opini n practicable, but I am of opinion likewise that at the least, do lOte toa cani&tl will he required, as ifc must; be borne in mind that in such a length of tunnel air shafts wi ! l be req-rired, and it will take no inconsiderable sum to sink ha^f a dozen from, say, 200 to 600 ft in depth In a country like Bendigo. whero quartz veins, or spurs, or reefs, or by what other n*me you like to call them, are to be met with every few feet on the surface, the inference ia that a la-ge and payable reef exists somewhere in the hill, and the only way to solve the problem is by a tunnel as proposed, the promoters therefore have my best and earnest wishes for the successful carrying out of their scheme." Messrs John Corbett and B. M'Guire, the recently-elected members of the Grey Valley Local Revenues Board for the sub-district of No town, decline to accept the honor which they consider has been in a manner forced upon them, and refnse to take their places at the Board. At the conference between the members of the Nelson Executive and the Road Board, on Friday, Mr O'Conor in- \ formed the Chairman of the Board that Messrs Corbett and M'Guire had stated publicly at a meeting at No Town, on Wednesday last, that they repudiated their responsibility for the action of those who proposed and elected them, without being consulted as to whether they would consent to stand. Mr Jon -s expressed his regret to the Provincia' Secretary that the members for No Town had come to such a conclusion, but at the same time he, in common with numbers of their constituents, considered that the refasal of Messrs Corbett and M'Guire to act on the Board was in effect a shirking of their public duties. In seeking so eagerly as they did positions of honor and trust, to which pay was attached, and in refusing to act for the benefit of their constituents when no emolument for their services was forthcoming, they had, in his opinion, forfeited their claim to be considered worthy representatives of the people,

The Auckland correspondent of the " Guardian," writing upon the Thames goldfields says :— "Our gold-fields are in a very moribund state at this moment, and the result has been the falling; off in nhe gold yield to the extent of L 60 ,000 this quarter, as compared with the corresponding quarter of 1873. This is a serious matter to this province, inasmuch as its gold yield is one of its commercial mainstays, and the reduction in the rate of dividends has had its depressing effect upon business, as well as occasioned by the departure of over 200 miners and others from the Thames during the past month. The streets of Qaarfczopolia are described as wearing the aspect one weuld imagine as peculiar to the advent of a perpetual Sunday. Still, it must not be imagined that our occupation is gone in that particular — far from it. There are larg6 interests involved, much capital is bsing expended, and hopes are still expressed of future greatness. The palmy days of the Caledonian are, however, days of the past, there can be little question of that fact. The Upper Thames is the next mile-post on the road to prosperity we hope to reach The natives object to our settling down there; so we are patiently awaiting, as we have been doing for years, the result of Mr Mackay's labors to purchase the right of entry on the land, for the benefit of miners, speculators, ' tradesmen, and others " The following is the form of application for a judgment summons under the '* Imprisonment for Debt Abolition Act, 1874 : — " I apply for the issue of a' judgment summons against tbe said defendant in respect of a judgment or order of this Court, and I undertake to prove to the satisfaction of the Court, at the hearing, that the judgment debtor has, or has had since the du,te of the judgment, the means to pay the sum in respect of which he has made default, aud that he has refused or nealected, or refuses or nfiglecs to pay the said sum. lam aware that if I do not prove the same a<;cortliat;ly, th*t I shall have to pay the cost of this summons " The Melbourne " Argus" says that the Minister of Public Instruction has presented a reiiOrfc to the Le^islntive Assembly, from which iC appea-8 that rb* number of children on the school rolls is 307,826 w:th 98.746 in average attendance Less than 16.000 of these scholars on the rolls during 1873 had been hitherto attending private schools Comparing the returns of 1873 with those of 1874, there is an increase of about 56,000 on the rolls, and 24 000 in average attendance, derived from other sources than the private schools. The number of schools in operation at the end of June was 1113, viz, Stateschools in buildings the property of the Minister, 531 ; State schools in leased buildiags, 457 j capitation schools, 125. Mr William Pyle. of St, Bathan's (Otago) furnishes the local paper with the following results of a parcel of St. Bathan's gold lately conveyed to Melbourne :— Weiffhfc before melting ... 441'930z. Weight after melting ... 4351 " Assay re iort on gold, 9770 Report on silver, 015 Standard gold, 463,748 Value at £3 17s 10£ d ... £1805 14 6 Fine silver — Deduct mint charges ab 5d peroz. > £9 13 3 £1796 1 2 It will be seen on calculation that the net result of the parcel was L 4 Is 3d per oz., from which the shipping and insurance has to be deducted. A small parcel of amalgam showed even better results for the buyer :— Before melting, 6'440z. After melting, 6 260z. Assay report, 9730 Report of silver, *015 Standard gold, 6 645 Value £25 17 6 Fine silver — Deduct mint charges ... 0 8 4 Net value £25 9 2 The ''Chronicle" says that Mr Pyle still continues to offer 6d more than the Banks are giving for gold.