SOCIAL.

West Coast Times, Issue 295, 3 September 1866, Page 5

SOCIAL.

The necessary steps were" taken some time since to secure the application to Hokitika of the Municipal Ordinance, to enable the householders to establish corporate institutions for the management of town affairs.- Owing to the discovery, that had the election taken place at that date, a large number of the householders would have been technically disqualified, owing to an oversight in adopting a general law to the special circumstances of a goldfield's population, it was the unanimous vote of a large influential public meeting, declared to be expedient to defer action in the matter until an amendment in the Jaw could be made. For that amendment we have hitherto waited in vain, in consequence of the many pressing matters that/have engrossed Jthe attention of the General Assembly, and it has been deemed advisable to secure the election of a Municipal Council without further delay. The necessary requisition from householders convening an electoral meeting has been forwarded to the Superintendent for publication in the " Gazette," and it is probable that in the course of a very few weeks, this long coveted boon will be confered on* the town. The land in Hokitika was in all instances, until within a few months back, ' occupied in virtue of certain righta con- - i fered oh holders of business licenses, for ' which an annual fee of £5 was paid to j the Government: Recently a large num- \ ber of sections were sold by auction under

the Land Regulations, passing for (he mo&t part into the hands of their holders, the value of whose improvements in the shape of buildings "and otherwise, waa assessed by officers appointed for the purpose. Any purchaser of a section being other than the occupier, had, in addition to the price of the land, to pay to the occupier the assessed value of the improvements. A considerable portion of the town lands comprising its most important business sites was reserved from sale on this occasion, in order to enable the General Assembly to amend the land regulations so aa to comply with the recommendations of a committee of the Provincial Council, that the allotments should be offered to the actual occu-

pants-at a fixed rate per foot of frontage as against all competitors. The feeling is very much divided upon the expediency of adopting this latter plan, and as no aotion has yet- been taken by the Assembly in the matter, it is prqbtble that the remaining town lands will be disposed of under the same regulations that obtained at the former sale. In the 'meantime the holders of unsold sections have had notice given them to register their claims, and it is understood that a new survey is to be made in order to construct a map upon which any future land sale may proceed. At present claims and sections in many instances overlap each other, and boundaries are confused, and the adjustment of these appears a very desirable and necessary step, under whatever regulations it may be ultimately determined to dispose of the sections'to purchasers. The sittings of the Supreme Court having terminated before the publication of our last summary we have nothing to record of particular interest in connection with criminal or judicial proceedings. * One of the recommendations strongly urged upon his Honor Mr Justice Gresson by the Grand Jury in their presentment to him has been adopted, and a Curator of Intestate Estates for the Westland district has been appointed. Other recommendations, involving alterations in the law, or radical changes initsmode of administration wait for such considerations as the governing powers may have leisure to give to them. The Resident Magistrate and the Goldfields Warden are the two potentates charged with the interpretation and enforcement of the law in Hokitika. The former is daily called in to adjudicate in cases in which the most important principles are involved, and in which it is highly

essential that the services of a jury - should be secured whilst the latter functionary indulges in the luxury of vexing publicans for allowing their lamps to go out at night, and in the punishment of other flagrant breaches of the goldfields regulations. One great event of the month has been the successful laying down of the submarine cable across Cook's Staits, which was susccssfully accomplished after one slight mishap. The line is now in good working order, and on the 26th ult. congratulatory

messages were exchanged between the Governor of New Zealand aud the Governments of the various provinces of the Middle Jsland. Telegraphic communication is now complete from the Bluff, the southernmost extremity^of the settled part of New Zealand, and Wellington, the Seat Government in the North Island. In Ecclesiastical matters we have little to report, but that little is satisfactory, indicating a considerable activity amongst the several religious denominations. The Wesleyans, who have built a commodious church and a handsome parsonage, held a tea meeting last week, at which Mr Sale, the Commissioner, presided, when the outstanding debt on the buildings was almost entirely liquidated. The Presbyterians, who are holding services temporarily in the Fire Brigade Hall, are taking active measures for the erection of a church. The members of the Jewish persuasion are putting up a handsome synagogue. The Rev. Mr M'Girr continues to officiate to large congregations in the Roman Catholic church. And last — which should be first— the Church of England are collecting funds for the erection of a place of worship and a minister's residence. This body has for a long time past occupied the Supreme Court House as a church, in which the Bishop of the diocese, the Right Rev. Dr Harper, has for some time past officiated. The earlyarrival of Archdeacon Harper, the Bishop's son, accompanied by an assistant clergyman, is -looked for. Under the head of Amusements, we have to chronicle the appearance on the boards of the Prince of Wales Opera House of ; Miss Julia Mathews, a colonial " star, 1 ' and a most accomplished and popular actress . in burlesque and comedy. She is a lady of great vocal ability, and in her line is! scarcely approached by any artist on the Australian stage. She has succeeded in drawing here, as elsewhere, crowded ; houses, and received a nightly ovation, j Her engagement has revived the declining fortunes of the Opera House, and afforded a rich and well appreciated tre.at to the playgoing public of Hokitika. Miss Mathews pays us this visit ( n route to &lel- j bourne, -with the intention of proceeding on a professional tour to California and j the other American States, where we have no doubt she will meet with an enthusiastic reception. A.n exhibition has been open for the last week or two, consisting of a moving diorama illustrating the scenes and incidents of recent frightful tragedies that have been j perpetrated on the West Coast by a gang of ' murderous ruffians. The paintings display considerable artistic skill, and are faithful and forcible delineations of the circumstances of a most appalling succession of crimes. The crimes we re e " r to are a series of treacherous and brut. • .iurders of travellers, which have shocked the moral sense. How many victims havg been sacrificed by these lawless desperadoes it is impossible J to estimate with any accuracy. It is known that Mr Dobson, a young gentleman engaged in the • survey service in the Grey district, was one of the earliest to be murdered. The charges on which the prisoners are at present awaiting trial at Nelson, are, the murders of a party of four travellers, and of a solitary wayfarer, an old whaler, in the bush. Soon after their arrest one of the accused turned approver, and, related in detail a horrid story of slaughter, pointing to his accomplices as the actual murderers, and representing himself as merely the planner and scout of the affair. This man's name was Sullivan. Since then another confession of a most 'extraordinary nature has been made by a secondmembfir of the gang named BurgesS; declaring himself and Sullivan to have been the real murderers, and fo 3ome extent exonerating the other two accugeJ

This statement was made in writing in open court, and we give it verbatim in another page as a most curious, but at the same time most revolting co t iM uMion to the history of crime.

Whilst the Nelson murders have excited a general foeling of indignation and horror on public grounds, the fate of poor Mr Dobson has elicited a \\ arm expression of sympathy. He was a provincial servant, and was widely known, and as widely'esteemed. A movement being initiated to erect some monument to Ins memory, it was decided to associate wiih !!-. name those of other public servants who had lost their lives in the endeavor to open up the West Coast to settlement. The movement, therefore, took the form of a joint memorial to Messrs Dobson, Hewitt, Whitcombe, and Townsend. The committee have succeeded in raising a fund, amounting to nearly a hundred and fifty pounds; and as several subscription -lists have yet to come in, it is hoped sumo L2OO will be available for the erection of a handsome monument in some conspicuous part of Hokitika. • The improvement and enlargement of business premises is one of our most conspicuous street features. The hotels of Hokitika are beginning to assume the palatial appearance familiar to the eye of the traveller in the leading cities of Europe and America. The new Tost Office Hotel, erected by Mr Hansen ; the Swan Hotel, by Messrs M'Guire and Lynch ; the Imperial Hotel, by Mr Moran ; the Commercial Hotel, by Mr Fitzsimnions, may be specially mentioned as handsome and imposing structures, offering every accommodation to the visitor. In several other establishments extensive improvements have been made which entitle, them to rank in the very first class, as houses of accommodation and luxury. We may mention the Cafe de Paris, kept by Mr P. Solomon ; the Criterion, by Messrs Mader and Edwards ; Mees' Hotel, in Revell street; the Cafe de France — a new and very extensive establishment ; Kortegast's Exchange Hotel ; the British Empire ; Williams' Hotel (the Gridiron) to which large additions have been made ; and we might add a long list of others. The shops and places of business in town are passing into an entirely new phase. Plateglass windows, handsome internal fittings, and brilliantly lighted chandeliers, are giving to these establishments a metropolitan appearance that speaks eloquently of the progress and the prospects of the district. Messrs Alcorn and Co. and Messrs Prichard and Co., drapers, were amongst the first to introduce the new style, and they have been followed by others in a true spirit of emulation. The new establishment of Messrs Byrne and Co. is one of the handsomest in town. It has an imposing' frontage, and its interior is capacious and lofty. The latest establishment opened is that of Messrs Manson and Co., which occupies the site of the old Club Hotel. The special features of this fine establishment are tHe colossal sheets of plate-glass, which are the largest, we believe, yet introduced into the colony; the cut-glass chandeliers suspended from the roof, and the arrangements by which the ladies' and gentlemen's department are entirely separated from each other without in any way interfering with the unity of design of the buildings. These are surely most gratifying and substantial proofs of the established and advancing prosperity of the district.

In our enumeration of architectural improvements we must not omit to mention the new bank offices erected by the New South Wales, New Zealand, and Union banking corporations, each of which can now boast the possession of an edifice worthy of the commercial capital of the West Coast, and bearing ample testimony to the large profits accruing from its business.