Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1987, 18 December 1874, Page 2

We .understand" that Mr Johnston, the Town Surveyor, has received from, Wellins'ton the necessary " Gazettes " and copies of Acts for the purchase of tho sections on Richmond Quay ; for the Government, in order to carry on the protective works. We have received from the publishers (Messrs .Kerr. Arnott. and Co) a copy "of the, " Greymouth and Grey District Almanac and Weßt Coa3l Directory for 187.5." It is well compiled,, and contains a mass o f information on the Subjects most directly inte-est- ' •in" to the miners and settlers on the Coast. To repeat the " contents " of the volume would be superfluous, and it is sufficient to say that all information connected with the West Coast is embraced in this volume, which can he purchased for the moderate sum of Is 6d from all bpuksellers. Tn regard to the letter from Mr Oolton, published in our issue of yesterday, exp'aining the reasons for declaring the recent, ejection; for. the Paroa Road. Board invalid, we have tostate, oh Mr Oolton's authority, that^ it was not written or intended for publication, and was only placed in our hands for information. We regret, therefore,: that it appeared as ib did. This evening, at the Volunteer Hall, the Rev IMr M'Nichol is to give a lecture on Spiritualism, in aid of the fauds of the Greymouth Literary Society. , Id connection with tbe approaching Christinas "Sports, on the Race-c >ur3e, the entries for the ' Westland Champion Handicap Race mush be sent in ■ t»-niahfc to : f.hc Hon. Sec. Mr. Payne, at the AlUiou Hotel.

"n Tue day Vie nominations will be made for thes Grey mon tii Jockey Club Handicap, to be run for on the 17 r h March next. Thuy will., be received by the H>n. Sec. at 'the Albion Hotel, .

Some heavy gambling must be indulged in at Boodi^'a]; N *.W. a correspondent of ihn "Hay Sfani'a-d " writes :—" A pen r.leman assured me tbaf recently he wv» doing a little Inn j a'> one time he Was a loser >if LI 12 000, hut, fortun*Mv for hims^f. only -dropped, as lie Rays. Lls 53-; another ge'iile- •• an cave his ch-que for L4OO. bis losngs, and- at. one period of the gammas niuch as ";T.400.Qf10 was on the table at onetime^ I felt & little delicate about "takiug ic. the whole^of i&ose fi^u-es, but I 'was assured that they were: correct My inf.wiriant further-stated the lucky winner 'was a vjery large station holder, worth more money than' could 'bfr conveniently couiited 1 in one day,"; „. , . ../ ■"/-■;■;• \-'

j'^U-'e understand, says the (t 'Sydney Mbrn\n% "Herald," that fcbe Government haye >appj>in*e.>l Sir DanieKCooper.- Bart., to act with the "rfciresenratives of New Zealand and Queensland in v the : United Kingdom for the purpose of entering into a contract for -the teleeraphic cahles 'required to connect, New Zealand with this colony and other parts of Australia by a second line with Europe The appointment is made pursuant to arrangements Entered into" bythe representatives of the three colonies interested at the' conference they'lately held in Sydney.^ Weundprstand that Mr "aintree, A gent-Gpneral : for Queensland, will represent his own colony, and that the Hon, Juljus Toge7, now on his way to England, will ace on behalf of New Zealand. . ; . ■ .

A. warning to the topers of Lake Wakatip district (Otago) is conveyed ii the following characteristic advertisement, by,.a distressed and angry pub'ican, which appears in the " Mail j." — c : * As it is impossible for me to get averaiecin this court, againsfc anyone owing me money, I berehy give notice that, if all parties indebted to me while proprietor of the I'rin'e of Wales Hotel, do not settle their accounts within, one month from this date, that I will advertise their names in full, and the amount of their account. "

A curious task has been thr-.wn upon Mr Mabin, a wwll-known auctioneer and agent iv Nelson, who, according to one of the local join nils, "his been engaged to proceed to Lyttelton to make up the average statement arid other documents connected with the barque .Emperor, which vessel left Newcastle ifor Lyttelton, and was driven back to Brisbane where tbe cargo was soU, and afterwards went to Ne ■» castfe and brought another j cargo to Lyttelton " Mr Mabin went on to I Lyttelton by the Taranaki.

The "Southern Cross," says .— " A report waß broueht to town by. the schooner Mary, Captain Brown, and was current throughout Saturday arid Sunday last of an alleged discovery of alluvial gold at. Cabbage Bay. The master of the vessel was informed of the matter while loading with firewood at the B»y,' by aman named Walter Scott, a settlwi residing there, whose statement; was to the effect that a party of four natives' had been out proßpeoting, and had suooeeded in ob»

taining 3oz of gold from about a hundredweight of dirfc. He further that he had seeu the goJd himself. The report must be taken for what it is worth ; but ifc may possibly be true, as the district around Cabbage Bay has long been considered likelylooking ground for alluvial diggings by experienced miners " A private letter from Blenheim, dated December 7, Btates:— ''The body of poor George Russell was found .by the Pilotmaster, at the mouth of the river, near the Boulder Bank. To-day his funeral takes place, andfUt will be conducted by the Good Templars.". Mr E. Haralin, of Waiuku, writes to tlio " Cross" to tbe effect that he has received information which lea Is him to believe that a man named William. M'Cann (whose death had been reported as having been caused by drowning) had been killed by a Maori. Mr M 'Cann had taken the wrong canoe, and the owner had given him a blow on the head, which there is now little doubt, caused his death. " ' Large beds of iron ore have been found at Raglan, Auckland. A vast quantity of magnetic iron saud also exists on the beach there. The Hon H. Chamberlain is exerting himself in the matter, and as coal and limestone are hofch to' be obtained in the same neighborhood, the " Cross" is of opinion, that the manufacture might be successfully started there. Mr W. P. Brown, of Wahupu. Bay of Islands, has lost his bouse and effects by fire. Damage, LBOO to L9OO. Street-preaching seems likely to become an institution in Auckland. The Good Templars of Auckland have presented two cows to the Industrial Home. The Master of the Quarantine Station at Auck'and has . presented a highly complimentary testimonial to the single women immigrants by fche ship Hydaspes. He tells them they are "t.he most respectable bodp of unraa ried women who hive arrived in Auckland for the last 18 years." At Auckland, .the other day, a girl with a child in h r arms, fell through the trap-door of a warehouse to the basement 40ft below ; and strange to say both of thorn escaped with a few bruises. Brumagem half-sovereigns clumsily mad* are afloat in Wellington, and many find their way up here (says the Auckland "Star") The "smasher" is described as a man of middle siz?, fresh complexion, sandy hair, moustache and beard of the same color, ■ and trimmed off, and dressed in a blue clotusaifc. Ab Arrowtown, Otigo, Squires and Wilkinson's party were, on November 28, getting gold out of their claim at the rate of about thirty pounds (L3O) per week. per man. Another magnificent cake of gold, weighing 14l0oz. has been forwarded to Duriedin from the Cromwell Company's claim. The salary of the head- master of the Normal Schools of Canterbury is fixed at L6OO a year An opinion has been expressed that the salary should be LIOOO per annum in order to obtain a really first-class man for the position. The London correspondent of the Auckland "Star" states that Mr Thomas Russell will succeed Dr Featherstone as oar AgentGeneral. A new English Church (St. Matthew's) was opened at Dunedin on December 3rd. Bishop Neville advocated free sittings and offertories. A man named William Olibbs was killed on December 3rd, at Sawyer's Bay, near Port Chalmers. Deceased and another man were pntting in a drill when a large mass of rock fell, upon them. ■ ; The concrete roof of the colonnade of the new Court Uousi at Lawrence, Ot ago, fell -inon December Ist. The damages, which were extensive, will fall on the c >nb<actor. From Se".temb<}r 2nd to October 28th, 58,4330z of gold were shipped from the Palmer diggings, Queensland. Besides this quantity it was reck >ned at the very least; that 7000oz were in private hands. Mr Moorhduse, in addressing the ratepayers of We'lington, advised vkeiu not; to give their Mayor a salary of (.200 a year, and stated that he would serve them "faithfully without any pay whatever." The meeting unanimously declared Mr Moorhouse to ba a fit and proper person for the office. .

A one-sixteenth fihire in the North of Ireland- el im, Biue Spur, Uta^o, has been ;sol/l fpr L6OO. „...• ; : -v.::

It is reported by the Napier •Telegraph" that the resignation by Sir Donald ML an auH'Mr Ormmd of " their sents in the General Assembly are likely to b* simultaneous. The former goes to a-aume th<v Governorship of Fiji, and the latter proceeds ; on a visit to England.. :..'.:•■

On December 4 f h, there were posted m the Supreme Cmrt Office at Danedin "notices from fifteen lawyers and articled clerks of their intention to apply to be 'admitted to the New Zealand bar. How are they all to live?" asks tbe " limes."

Francis Henry Dillon Bell, Esq » of the Middle Temple, tondon, has intimated i is inter. tion to .'apply, two months hence, for admission at Wellington, as a barrister >nd solicitor of the Supreme Court; '

The Melbourne '" Leader " has the following paraeraph :— " Mr Yogel •will have his work to -do 'if he seeks to rehabilitate the reputation. of New; Zealand securities.' A Mr Fellow has shown, in' a letter to the 'Pall Mall 'Gazette,- ihafc New Zealand already owes about twice as mu^h in proportion to her population as the United Kingdom, and that tbe public works now being construot •& cannot, become, reproductive during the present .century., The ' Spectator ' takes up the cudgels on, behalf of the Colony, but I fear that most unprejudiced persons will thiok that Mr Fellows has the best of the argument, 'f he worst of it is that a blow to the credit of one Colony .has ran effect the reverse of beneficial v >on the financial position of its neighbors, and Victoria has to pay for New Zealand's follies."

A conger eel was caught, at, Otago Heads the other day which measured Bft and weighed over 26ib.

We take the following fmmtlie Wellington " Post "-; — " The l)unedin- " Guardiaa" indignantly denies 'the slly story' that Mr Voget failed to negotiate the temporary debentures iv Sydney, and triumpaantly announces that he succeeded iv placing L3OO 000 worth on the Sydney market. This, our contemporary considers a highly satisfactory result. How such a conclusion can be arrived at in the absvrice of all information sis to the terras oiv which these debentures were quitted we < are at a loss to imagine. Only the most implicit faith in Mr Vogel's financial inability could justify it. We cannot share the ' Guardian's ' sitisfaetion. We have endeavored to obtain some information regarding the terms of the sale. We have publicly asked for it through our <:olumns, although the Government organ hero republishes the 'Guardian's' announcement, it doss not add anything to the very bald statement of its contemporary. Either iMinisters are themselves ignorant of the particulars of Mr Voxel's bargain, or they are very much disinclined to give any information to the public.

ATaamaaiaa paper, ou ibe aufchorifcy of a /entleman who recently paid a visit to Europe, states that .one of the largest manufacturers and wool buyere in the south of Scotland informed him thft.t muoh , of the

Australian wool was being ruined by hot water washing, that it was being overdone entirely, and that tbeir house, after much experience, would not buy a bale of it. Between hot water and over dumping, a g»od de 4of wool has proved to be utterly worthless when subjected to the* action of tde machinery iv the mills. The Provincial Coancil of Taranaki, says the "Herald," will be called together shortly. The Harbor Bill, which has been prepared some time and forwarded to Wellington, is, we understand, returned without any material alteration ; so that the members, knowing ib has r been approved of by the. Qeneral Government, need have little apprehension in passing it. When once agreed to, our contemporary adds, it will not be long befbre we shall hear of the harbor works being commenced. 11 A curious set of people," the " Pall Mall Gazette" says, "has been lately discovered .by Captain W. 0. Manning in a village in orth- Western New Mexico, just south of the border line between tliat territory and Colorado, and of whom a description is given in the ' Denver News,' a Colorado paper. A strong wall surrounds the village, which ontains houses sufficient to accommodate 4000 people. s:The population has, however, dwindled to about 1800. The language and sojne of the customs of the inhabitants correspon i to the language' and customs of the Chinese. The women are of tbe true Celestial type. They dress themselves and their hair in Chinese fashion. Their religion is described a3 'barbarously magnifioent;' Montezuma is tbeir deity. His coming; is looked for at sunrise each day. Immortality ( is part of their creed. The priests have heavily | embroidered robeo, used for unnumbered | years. The ceremonies of worship ares fojimal and po:«DOUs. The morality of the people is unimpeachable. They keep -a record o"E---events by means of tying peculiar knots in long cords. Their Government ia a Conservative Repriblic. Power is vested in tbe council of 13 caciques; six- of them are selected for life. Old men are generally chosen, in order that their terms of office may not be inordinately long. Ihe remaining seven are selHcted from time to time. One or them ia the executive chief j another is a sort of vice-president. There is a war chief and a chief of police. These seven caciques/are usually young men. They Berve bub a- few months. ' Suffrage is universal, and civilisation is 'quite fjr advanced.' Woman, as might .be expected under these circumstances, is held in the highest possible respect and veneratiou. Kothiug is too good for her, and her only tastes are those of housekeeping This isolated community has maintained its traditions unbroken for at leaßbthrte and a h If centuries ; and it is, in faofc a paradise for women and priests. "