SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC.

West Coast Times, Issue 277, 13 August 1866, Page 1 (Supplement)

SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC.

Under this head we have very little to record, the principal event in the local history of the month being the sitting of the Supreme Court in its criminal and civil jurisdiction, which is referred to at length elsewhere. The murder of Mr George Dobson, a member of the Government Survey staff, whilst engaged in the discharge of his official duties in the Grey "district, was adverted to in our last Summary, and it was intimated that a movement had been initiated for the erection of a public monument in Hokitika to the memory of this unfortunate young gentleman, aud of three others — Messrs Ilowitt, Townsend, and Whitcombe — who had also perished by drowning (or otherwise), in the public service on this coast. Several meetings of the committee have been held, and at the last it was announced that a sum of a hundred pounds had been reported to the* secretary as subscribed. It is probable that a considerably larger amount than that will be raised, and that some public memorial worthy of the occasion and of the town will be erected. The murders of Mr Dobson and of other victims — especially those who 'were slam in the Nelson Province — remain to be brought heme to their perpetrators. No doubt is felt that the whole of these crimes were the work of a single concested gang of scoundrels visiting the district from New South Wales, for the purpose of pursuing their trade of lawlessness and murder. Four men are now in custody at Nelson, awaiting trial, viz., Burgess, Lew, Kelly, and Sullivan. The last-named has been admitted' as Queen's evidence, and the extraordinary story he tells 'will be found recorded in the verbatim report of his examination, which we give in another page. For the murder of the four Manng.itapu travellers, the other three men stand committed by the Nelson bench. Upon a charge of murdering an old whaler named Battie ,they aru remanded. Their trial i 3 a pointed to take place at Nelson, during the month of September ensuing. In the Hokitika gaol lie several men, under remand, charged, "more or less directly, with complicity either in these murders or the murder of poor Mr .Dobson, or with abetting the gang iv var ous ways. Amongst these is the actual mur- j derer of Mr Dobson, if the statements made by Sullivan are to be relied on. It is understood that the latter will be brought down to Hokitika to give evidence in this case as soon as his presence as a necessary witness in Nelson can be dispensed with. Turning from these criminal aspects of our social history, we find little that needs special record. There has been nothing done in ecclesiastical circles, with the exception of some meetings of a committee of the Church of England, charged with the task of raising funds for the erection of a building for divine worship and a residence for the archdeacon and his assistant clergyman. The Presbyterians are also contemplating theerectiou of a new church, and when the both are completed there will be four edifices for religious worship in Hokitika, belonging respectively to the Church of England, the Catholics, the Presbyterians, and the Wesleyans. The month has been very dull as regards amusements, the only place of public entertainment open being the Prince of Wales Opera House, where a succession of pieces belonging to various departments of the drama have been produced. Although the weather cannot be said to be inclement for the season of the year, it has not been favorable to the success of night entertainments, Hokitika as yet "net being in a position to boast of its paved ways and lighted streets. With scarcely an inter va l , however, the theatre has now been open for several months, and that — latterly with little novelty — it has borne its fortunes through" so protracted a season, is a circumstance that could scarcely have been anticipated. A projeot for the establishment of a

Literary and Gymnastic Association, has been for some weeka before the public. It was started with considerable spirit, but has of late somewhat flagged. Tin-, is to* be attributed to circumstances that are very well appreciated on tho spot, and thero is little room for doubt that the proposal will eventually be successfully carried into effect. Many marked improvements have been made in town during the month. The new Bank of New Zealand is the most imposing structure that has yet been erected in Hokitika. It consists of $'wo stories, and of handsome suites of apartments well fitted for the uses of a leading banking establishment. It is a public architectural ornament, and reflects great credit upon the bank corporation. Private building improvements are innumerable. -Amongst the chief of these we may note the conversi6n of the old Corinthian Hall, the first place of public entertainment opened in Hokitika, into a magnificent drapery establishment by J. F. Byrne & Co., the purchasers of the building. By this enterprising firm, the shell of the late hotel and concert room has been taken possession of, and made the cover of one of the finest shops aad show-rooms to be found in any part of Australia. Brilliantly lighted as it is, it presents a spectacle that could scarcely have been anticipated in Hokitika a few mouths ago. The handsome front Messrs Byrne & Co. have put up to their new establishment, is a conspicuous feature in Revell street. Great improvements are being made in the matter of hotel accommodation. We have in previous Summaries mentioned the additions made to their premises by many of 1 our hotol-keepers. This work is still steadily progressing, aud amongst the most recent examples, we may meution tho establishment of Messrs Jones & Mcc — the Golden Age — who are- erecting an additional storey, and otherwise improving the accommodation of their house. It will be a matter of regret to our readers to learn that the first attempt to lay a telegraph cable across Cook Straits, in order to connect the North with the Middle Island, proved a failure, in consequence of .the breakage of the cable when some miles of it had been paid out. We are happy, however, to learn that the lost portion has now been recovered, and that immediate measures are to be taken to continue" the enterprise : so that there is the prospect, before the publication of our next Summary, of the extensive telegraphic system which has been established throughout the Middle Island, being connected with Wellington on the north of Cook Straits, the present capital of the colony.